One-Winged Cometh
by SpindlyWhale410
Summary: It took Sephiroth no less than a few seconds to kill Cloud and his team and assimilate control of the Lifestream as a god. He now traverses the universe, destroying worlds and absorbing the souls of its inhabitants, seeking to create a new Promised Land upon the very rock he travels on. FFVII AU ending. (Inspired by Infinity War!)
1. A Fight in Heaven

**Do you ever get that feeling that whenever you've just seen an awesome blockbuster movie, you have the urge to just write some random story based on that film's plot? I had that exact feeling when I came up with this concept.**

 **Ah well... I'm glad that I decided to put this out there before I lost interest.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

She thought that it was finally over, that finally she would be given a chance to live out an actual normal life without such threats looming in the heavens.

The same could be said of her older sister, her fiancé, her friends, and every single person who lived on Pulse right before the end of the world.

She had hoped that upon their arrival on the new world, she and her sister would start afresh with their lives. That they would be able to put the past behind them and move on. And maybe, just maybe, her sister would be much more tolerant around her fiancé when she meets him again.

But now... all hopes were dashed in an instant. And it came out of nowhere.

As Serah Farron along with the countless souls of her people journeyed past a large gas giant with large rings around it, they were intercepted by a humongous asteroid which pulled all of them to its rocky surface by an unknown force.

To the surprise of everyone including herself, upon contact with the asteroid they all suddenly regained their physical forms.

Some believed that this was the new world that was foretold, others had their skepticisms – herself included. How could this be the new world if it looks like an asteroid?

But just before they all could comprehend the gravity of their situation, **he** showed up. He, alongside his three servants swooped in and began a massive slaughtering.

Before her eyes, Serah watched with horror as countless of innocent people were cut down.

Every man, every woman, ever child, and every infant... many were left unspared by this horrific crusade. Even her friends Hope, Fang and Noel had attempted to fight back against these foes, but just like the rest they were left diced in pieces within seconds.

Sazh had attempted to shield his son from the onslaught, but ultimately both of them too were quickly disposed of.

As the body count shot upwards, Serah watched as the life essence seeped out of the dead and flowed through cracks upon the asteroid's surface. It was like the asteroid itself fed on the souls of the dead. No more than five minutes had passed, and as quickly as it had begun, it stopped. And soon, she was among the remaining few that remained alive.

Enraged and afraid, she was wondering over and over why. Why when all the others of her kind were quickly wiped out without a second thought?

But before she could ponder more Serah suddenly found herself forced down on her knees, forced even closer to the lifeless corpse of Fang, with her limbs sliced off and scattered somewhere else.

A moment of peace followed the chaos, but she was frightened because it made it all the more unsettling.

"Here me... and rejoice!" one of the servants exclaimed out as though he were a priest preaching a sermon. He donned a black leather clothing with gauntlets and a coat, which he kept zipped up. The image of a single wing was sewn on the back of his coat

He had shoulder-length silver hair that partially covers his face and green cat-like eyes. His weapon, a katana with two parallel blades bounced in a sheath against his lower back as he treaded across the countless dead bodies that littered the asteroid.

As he walked by Vanille who was attempting to recover from an injury sustained at her belly, he kicked her back down and continued with his words as though it never happened.

"You... All of you... have had the privilege of being saved by the great Angel!" he declared solemnly.

"Suffering... Judgement... Believe what you will. To us, it is your salvation! The universal scales tip toward balance each time because of your sacrifice!"

As he circled around Serah, he paused for a moment and cast down a callous smile. He reached over with a gloved hand and stroked her cheek.

"Why the long face, girl?" he said, and his eyes glistened ever more, "Smile... for even in death, you like your people, will become a child of Sephiroth!"

He let loose a sickening giggle which sent shivers down her spine. Given the chance she would gladly separate his head from his shoulders.

Soon he removed his hand and began walking away in stride. And then the servant from behind Serah gripped her pink hair and pulled it in such a way that she was forced to stare forth at tall, brooding figure who led the manslaughter in the first place.

At this moment his back was facing her, so she could only make out his long, black, leathery coat which bellowed out against an unfelt wind, and his insanely long, silver hair which reached his waist level.

A second later, and the man slowly glanced around to acknowledge her. Green cat-like eyes pierced through terrified dark-blue ones. There was an aura of foreboding lingering in his presence.

"I understand what it is like to be lost," Sephiroth proclaimed in a dark, monotone voice, "To feel so empty... left behind... to find your place within this indifferent universe..."

He then turned his attention to a person stirring right at his feet, and he bended down to pick him up.

She was shocked by just how he was able to pick the man up with just one arm, by the neck. And even more horrifying was the fact that the man he was holding... was her fiancé.

"... but no more..." Sephiroth finished as he slowly made his way over to Serah and his servants, dragging Snow across the rocky surface in the process.

As he got closer, Serah was able to get a better look at Snow's condition. He was battered, bruised, had cuts in multiple places, and he even had an index finger chopped off. It pained her even more to realize that she was helpless where she was, at the mercy of Sephiroth's servants.

Yet even with injuries, Snow was attempting to pry himself out of the man's tight grip on his throat. He was gasping out hard for air, and his arms were hopelessly pounding away at the hand of his captor. Serah was surprised that Sephiroth acted as though he never felt a thing.

"Once you were all alone in your corner of the universe," Sephiroth intoned he stopped just six feet away from Serah, "But now you are here. For you have found me..." He raised up his free hand and smirked maliciously at Serah, "And I have found you..."

Serah watched as a surprisingly long-bladed katana appeared in his hand and in swift move, he sliced the blade along Snow's neck. Serah screamed out in horror as she witnessed the horrid display, watched her fiancé gasping out in agonising breaths. Sephiroth released his grip on Snow, and the man fell to the floor covering up the deep cut with his hand as he attempted to stop the flow of air from escaping his lungs, and the blood that continued to spill out profusely.

But within seconds, Snow's life was quickly sapped and with one final glance that he shared with Serah, he finally collapsed onto the ground, dead.

Sephiroth smiled with satisfaction as he willed away his sword and then he looked down upon Serah traumatised face. He was satisfied that he had struck a nerve.

And then he noticed her pink hair being gripped tightly by one of his Sons. He narrowed his eyes at him.

"Loz, what did I say about handling important guests?"

The short-haired bulk with a taser gauntlet on his left arm looked fearful for a moment, before he apologized.

"S-Sorry, Father."

Loz quickly released his grip, and Serah practically fell forward, her body exhausted from the trauma. As she laid sprawled on the ground catching her breath, she could hear those footsteps clipping and clopping against the rocky surface, as though the ground itself were made of metal.

And then she saw the pair of boots stopping right in front of her, and Serah slowly glanced her eyes up to meet with those terrifyingly piercing cat-like pupils that were tempting her to look away from.

For a moment, she observed that Sephiroth displayed no look of cruelty. Not a trace of sadism upon his strong features.

But as she soon found out, his appearance was not his strongest tool of intimidation.

"There is no need to fear me, my dear," he intoned curtly, "Compared to the rest of your comrades and your people, I have... other uses for you."

His voice was a mixture of calm, deep, cold and calculating, and it was sending shivers down her spine.

With restraint effort, Serah slowly pushed herself up, until she was on her knees before the man. She had a skeptical look in her eyes. Other uses? What could this psychopath possibly want her to do for him? He may as well as just kill her there and now.

But her inner conscious knew better than that. Sephiroth was offering her a potential olive branch. Might as well see what his bargain was.

With a deep intake of air, she questioned, "What's the deal?"

"During my conquests of planets, I always leave one person alive to tell the tale," Sephiroth stated, "I would send him or her to my next global target, to warn its people of my inevitable arrival."

"Warn them?" Serah parroted in confusion.

Sephiroth nodded his head, "I find no honor in victory if my opponents are not granted a chance to defend themselves. Although I would still make all of them a part of me in the end, they will still come to see me as a valiant figure, or at least I'll **mould** their thoughts that way when they are reborn upon the Promised Land."

And then as though he remembered something, he turned to the preacher servant and questioned, "How far away is the next world, Kadaj?"

The jerk who taunted her earlier bowed his head and responded, "About three star systems away. With solar winds currently blowing in that general direction, we should be able to reach there in probably three days."

With a short nod, Sephiroth turned his attention back to Serah and saw the death glare she was sending his way. He smirked at this.

"Hmph. Pitiful. You mortals are the same on every world. Defiant to the very end."

He reached down and thumbed her cheek, "But the harsh truth is... like sheep and cattle, you were born and raised to be shepherd by a higher power."

As he spoke he failed to notice Serah make glances behind him, and once he was finished she spoke out boldly, "And here's my harsh truth..."

She leaned closer to him, and narrowed her eyes.

"Never turn your back on a Farron."

Sephiroth frown questionably at this, but then he heard fast and furious stomps coming from behind him.

Before he could react, he was sent flying away by an unknown force. Seeing their Father go down, Kadaj, Loz and the third servant rushed forward to attack. Seconds later they founded themselves being knocked away by a flurry of swift kicks and punches.

As soon as all her opponents were down and out, a battered and bruised Lightning dusted off her gloves and ran over to her sister.

"Serah! Are you alright?" she asked worriedly as she slowly helped her sister up.

With a sigh of relief, Serah wrapped her arms around her and muttered softly, "I'm good, Claire."

Lightning smiled warmly as she returned the hug. After a few emotional moments, they released their hold over one another.

"I'm so relieved you're still alive," Serah said as she scanned her sister's injuries head-to-toe. Lightning nodded back, but then her smile slowly faltered.

"I... saw what happened to Snow..." she spoke out slowly and genuinely, "I'm sorry..." Serah's happy mood darkened, and then she took one last look back at the corpse which was her fiancé. Both could see the blood still pouring out of his neck.

Inside her mind, Serah was struggling to fight off all those memories that were seeping into her thoughts. All the good times and bad times that she had spent together with Snow. All the moments that he was with her when she was smiling, crying, angry or disheartened. Serah was so caught up in her emotional moment, that she barely felt a tear that was dripping down her cheek.

But then within seconds, realization hit Serah, and her sadness was quickly forgotten. There was little time for mourning. They had to leave now, or risk a similar fate. With someone like Sephiroth prowling around on this space rock that he commandeered, there was no telling how long he would be out of the picture.

Quickly turning to Lightning, Serah hurriedly said, "Sis, we have to find a way out of here! Now!"

Lightning acknowledged this with sharpened eyes that were darting around in all directions.

"Yeah, I'm working on it. In the meantime, go check if there's any other survivors."

Serah nodded her head obediently, knowing by her sister's serious tone that this was a dangerous situation where her instructions had to be taken without question.

As Lightning continued her surveillance of the asteroid, Serah slowly began walking around the dead corpses. As far as she could see, almost all of them had been sliced up like butter into many pieces.

Faces were halved. Arms were fillet. Legs were separated. And organs and eyeballs were lay splat across the ground like gruesome decorations.

Serah felt torn between puking out in disgust and crying out in mournful grief. There so many innocent people that had been left without a world to call home since Bhunivelze destroyed Pulse. So many that had followed them on the long voyage across the stars to the New World... only to have their lives ended by Sephiroth and his Sons.

She felt so sick to death by all of this needless deaths and she could tell that Lightning was feeling the same way deep inside. Even if she were still as uncaring as she was even before the whole I'Cie pandemonium, there would be no doubt that her sister would still feel so traumatised by this whole incident.

In their entire lives, both Farrons had never witnessed an atrocity as heart-wrenching as what Sephiroth had displayed. Does his cruelty know no bounds at all?

Just as she was about to give up and return to Lightning, she heard a faint groan coming from nearby. Serah quickly whirled around in the direction it was coming from, and then she saw a faint bit of movement up ahead. Without any hesitation, Serah started running briskly over to the person.

As she got closer, she recognised who it was. With a gasp of relief, Serah exclaimed out, "Vanille!"

Quickly picking up the pace, she raced over to the injured girl and knelt at her side.

Looking up at her friend with a weak and pained smile, Vanille muttered out, "W-What took you s-so..."

She felt a sting at her tummy and hissed out loud in agony. Serah's eyes darted to where Vanille was clutching her injury. Blood was flowing out profusely from a deep gash just above the navel.

"Oh my! Y-You're bleeding!" she gasped out as she moved closer to Vanille.

Vanille shook her head with a soft giggle, "Yeah... heck of a predicament, huh?"

With a deep breath, she slowly lowered her head onto the ground, and her eyes were staring out into the unknown void of space.

"Although I don't think I'm going to get out of this one..."

Serah shook her head in furious denial, "Don't say that, silly! We've been through worse scrapes than this!"

Carefully, she helped Vanille up into a sitting position. She took note of her effortful breathing, and then she coached gently, "Stay calm, and keep your eyes on me, okay? Lightning's going to get us out of here."

Vanille nodded her head slowly, and managed a wide smile, but a forced one at that as Serah noticed. But the eyes told a different story altogether. Deep down inside herself, Serah knew that her assurance was baseless. There was possibly no way of escaping an asteroid that was floating in space.

"Serah, did you find anyone?" the voice of her sister asked.

Serah turned around to acknowledge Lightning's presence from a short distance away, returning the stare. She slowly nodded her head.

"Yeah... it's one of our own..."

She angled her body just a bit, allowing Lightning to get a close look at the person she was talking about.

It took the former Savior no less than five seconds to figure out who she was, and when she did she had a worried look.

"Vanille!" she muttered out and took a step forward.

In a daze, Vanille made an attempt to salute her, but the loss of blood was making her actions woozier – she ended up smacking her forehead.

Lightning let loose a small smile of relief as this slight comedic gesture, but then she became serious again.

"I don't have any Potions with me, we'll have to settle with the old-fashioned way."

Serah nodded in understanding, and she produced a small cloth from her pocket. As she started going to work, Lightning added in from behind, "But be quick though, we don't how long before –"

Suddenly, she felt something sharp shot right through her at her back. The pain seared through her flesh, bones and organs like wildfire, and then it popped out through her stomach. Her voice was lost at the moment, and she allowed the shock to slowly seep into her conscious. She stared wide-eyed at the blade sticking out of her.

Hearing the slicing sound behind her, Serah looked around to see what was happening. Once her mind registered with the blade, she let out a stifled gasp of horror. Vanille too was observing what was happening, and she had a look of shock upon her bruised face.

As the tense seconds passed, Lightning heard the cold voice behind her utter out, "I find your pluck admirable. Regrettable however that it will do you no good here."

With little effort, Sephiroth spun around and sent Lightning flying off into the distance. Paying Serah and Vanille no heed, he levitated off the ground and shot off after her.

Lightning hurtled through the air like a spinning boomerang, and the sensation off not having actual air blowing against her form felt a little weird. She had no idea how long she was flying, but she knew that she was getting pretty far away from both Serah and Vanille.

Eventually, she began her harsh descent back onto terra firma, and she met it by the way a flat stone skipped across the river. To compensate her rough landing, Lightning did a quick flip backwards, which effectively saw her feet landing and skidding harshly against the rocky terrain as she came to a stop.

From her knelt-down position, Lightning looked to greet the silver-haired maniac who gently landed not too far away from her. From this distance, she could see that the length of his sword could almost make up the gap between them both.

With a smile, Sephiroth moved into an attack position.

With a deep sigh, Lightning casted a Cure spell on her wound which disappeared within a second, and then she shook her head.

"... I knew I should've stretched..."

She pulled out and pulled out her sword Ultima Weapon as Sephiroth made the first move towards her.

Back and forth, the two warriors clashed, and early on Sephiroth was proving to be a formidable opponent for Lightning. For every slash and hack she made, he countered it tenfold with more powerful strikes. And for every defence she made, Sephiroth's brute force and relentless stamina was pushing her backwards by a couple of metres.

Eventually, soreness was beginning to take an effect on her muscles and Lightning understood that she had no other alternative going head-on against Sephiroth; she needed some breathing room. Charging up an electrical blast of energy in her free hand, she blasted a barrage of bolts as her opponent.

Sephiroth swiftly repelled the bolts with his sword, and narrowed his pupil slits at the woman who was taking off across the asteroid.

With a great boost of energy, Lightning surged across the rocky terrain, back in the same direction where Serah and Vanille were.

 _"Hopefully they're still alright..."_ she thought to herself, _"If the bastard's dogs did anything to them, I'll never forgive myself."_

But then a thought came to her mind, and upon realization she mentally berated herself.

She could have simply just told Serah to cast a Cure spell on Vanille!

Before she could ponder why she had not thought of it before, Sephiroth suddenly appeared in front of her. Lightning gasped in shock and tried to halt in her tracks. But her speed was so fast, she ended up being caught by the silver-haired by her throat.

Immediately, her windpipe was being squeezed, effectively cutting off the air intake entering her lungs. As Lightning began to choke, Sephiroth lifted her high up, yet again with almost little effort. He spent a few moments looking deep into her eyes.

But he was not paying attention to the fear and anger radiating off of those blue eyes. He was clearly searching for something else, for he had observed how this woman was able to hold on her own, even if it was for a brief few minutes, similar to another warrior he knew.

"No signs of Mako..." he mused, paying little mind to fingernails scratching and clawing at his hand gripping at the throat, "... and yet you are still alive. How interesting..."

But because his sole focus was on Lightning's facial features, he failed to notice her hand pulling out a concealed dagger from her hip pocket.

"Yeah...? You'll find I'm full of surprises," Lightning retorted by defiantly, and she plunged the dagger into Sephiroth's stomach.

With a raised eyebrow, Sephiroth released his grip on Lightning, and she fell back onto the ground. As she quickly recovered, Lightning looked up to see the swordsman staring down at the hilt of her dagger sticking out of his stomach, right in-between his abs.

And yet to her surprise, he looked as though the injury was like a mosquito bite. He did not portray any features of pain and agony at all.

 _"What the hell?"_ she thought inwardly, _"Who is this guy?"_

Sephiroth looked up and smiled ever so cruelly.

" _Who_ indeed..."

Lightning's eyes widened in surprise. He could **read** her thoughts?

Sephiroth reached for the dagger, and pulled it out slowly. All the while he maintained that calm, unaffected demeanor – a purposeful intention to send his opponent a clear message that he could not feel pain.

He studied the dagger for a moment.

"Intricate design, even by the standards of mortals. Where you come from, your world must be interesting."

Lightning slowly rose to her feet, and maintained her tense eye contact with her opponent.

"Oh you have no idea..."

The Dagger of God was a painful reminder of when she was appointed the Saviour of God. A reminder of the many things she had done right by Bhunivelze, but wrong by her own people, as well as her friends and those she loved. Considering the effective use of her sword during her mission, Lightning never used the dagger, only when necessary, especially since the damned thing acted just like a normal dagger.

"A life that you must have led," Sephiroth mused, "So much anger, despair, hate... In a way, we are both similar."

Lightning growled at him.

"You could never understand what I've went through."

Sephiroth smiled at her thinly.

"Oh, I think I do. I can see the pain written on your face – struggling to let go of that pain, that torture. And yet it still lingers on like a scar. I can sympathise on that point."

Lightning had had enough of his taunts.

 _"SHUT UP!"_

She lunged at him with her gunblade. Reacting swiftly, Sephiroth dropped the knife and summoned his long sword. He raised it up to deflect a wild attack that was aimed at his face.

He never once drove back with his own offence, for he tactically knew from the woman's attacks that his words had gotten through to her, and now she was letting her emotions get the better of her. Her attacks were unfocused, her eyes undisciplined, and her stance unbalanced.

For certain it was only a matter of time before she tired out completely, and by then she would have unknowingly given him his inevitable victory. Too bad she did not know that, and Sephiroth was fully prepared to capitalise on her mistake.

Within minutes, Lightning's attacks had turned into a frenzy of hacking down at her opponent.

All the while, Sephiroth had maintained the defence stance he had positioned himself, and was letting the rest do the work for him. As much as his strength was unlimited, the same could not be said for his patience. Boredom was slowly creeping in, and he was longing for an opportunity for the twist, to make things interesting.

Eventually, Lightning's attacks began to slow, and just as she was about to give Sephiroth one final blow, she felt the sheer force of his blade pushing away her gunblade before once more feeling it being run through her chest. Through her flesh and ribs.

With a cry of agony, Lightning instinctively gripped onto Sephiroth's blade with her free hand, as he slowly lifted her up once more.

"Now this is something that I'm familiar with..." Sephiroth commented as he stared hard at Lightning writhing about at his mercy, "Only another soldier had felt the pain of this intensity."

Lightning gritted her teeth, and glared dagger eyes at the silver-haired swordsman.

"F... Fuck you..." she gritted out weakly, "I have faced down a god before... and I will prevail against you..."

Sephiroth scoffed lightly.

"Hmph... So it would seem. But unfortunately for you, Miss Farron... I am more than just a god."

Within seconds, there was an explosion of black feathers behind Sephiroth, and Lightning became astonished at the right wing that emerged from his back.

But before she could even register it, Sephiroth launched her up into the air. With a flap of his wing, he took off after her. Levitated high up in the air, the only instinctive thing Lightning could do was cover the wound in her tummy. She could not do it for her bleeding back however, considering that her other hand was gripping her gunblade tightly.

If she could, she could sheath her weapon and try to cover the other injury behind. Maybe she could also have attempted to cast a Cure spell. But then she saw Sephiroth charging towards her at Mach speed, his wing stretched outwards to literally impose his large presence.

Out of desperation, Lightning sheathed Ultima Weapon and summoned her gunblade Overture. In gun mode she unleashed several shots at the fiend. Sephiroth with grace to his swings, deflected every bullet with his sword and in-turn, retaliated swiftly.

Quick and deadly were the slices and pierces of his sword as Sephiroth started stabbing Lightning with nimble speed without warning before she could even react. His stabs were strategic, targeting all major parts of Lightning's body. For a few agonizing seconds, Lightning could only let out a cry of intense agony, as the sharp blade penetrated her skin and left deep wounds in her organs, muscles, and even fractured some bones.

And then Sephiroth shot his sword right through the bottom of her foot, forcefully pushing the blade out the other side and all the way up Lightning's body length. The bloodied tip reached and scraped Lightning's cheek, and she winced tearfully.

Just like before, Sephiroth hurled his prey in a general direction with his sword, this time to the ground. He watched as she screamed bloody murder as she tumbled back down to the asteroid like a meteor, droplets of blood cascading off of her wounds into the air.

Almost a second later and her weakened body crash-landed hard into the rocky terrain. And then a rain of her own blood poured all over her a second later. It felt like an eternity for her to regain her bearings, to cope with the pain she was suffering.

As much as she hated to admit it, she slightly missed having the powers of both Etro's Champion and the Saviour. Not that she enjoyed having those unnatural abilities though. But seeing as she was going up against Sephiroth, a man who was probably a god himself and maybe even more powerful than both Bhunivelze and Caius combined, she probably would've needed both of them in this situation.

She took in labored breaths as she slowly got to her feet. The wounds all around her body stung as her skin and muscles contracted and expanded, but Lightning tried not to think about them. All that mattered was how the hell was she supposed to take down someone like Sephiroth.

Her eyes darted up to the man who casted a dark shadow upon her from the sky. Against the sun which the closest ring planet orbited, it gave off a false sense of wonderment that Sephiroth looked like an angel sent by God. Which was almost fitting, seeing as Bhunivelze was an asshole, and so was Sephiroth.

Come to think of it... maybe Sephiroth would have been a far better servant of Bhunivelze than Lightning could ever be.

If he had originated from her world, then he would have been a devoted worshipper. A radical fundamentalist. With an aura of cruelty and evil that would even have made Caius jealous.

Sephiroth let out a grin of satisfaction.

"Worry not, Miss Farron. Soon, your life essence shall become one with Lifestream, and take heart your friend will join you shortly after."

With his blade held aloft high, Sephiroth began a Mach dive down towards the weakened woman.

From not too far away, Serah had watched the chaos with a mortified face.

From a battle, the man had transitioned it to become an all-out slaughter. Same as how he did it too the rest of her people. Before her eyes, she was witnessing once more why Sephiroth was virtually unstoppable.

Her sister was unquestionably the strongest and the most powerful of fighters on their homeworld. Heck, she was the one who took down God!

And yet even at her best she was taken down a peg or two in no less than seven minutes. Lightning had given Sephiroth everything she had, but Sephiroth's best was clearly tenfold in comparison.

And now Serah was witnessing an execution taking place. Her heart felt painful and weakened. She realised that she may never get to spend peaceful times with her sister ever again. In her own mind, the final death knell was going in slow-motion, as a single, solitary tear went down her cheek.

Beside her, Vanille had finally managed to muster enough energy to get up to her knees. Despite the loss of blood, she was slowly recuperating thanks to Serah patching her up. Seeing as Lightning, the last line of defence against Sephiroth, was about to perish, she knew that there was one thing left that she could do now.

Closing her eyes, she muttered out a silent prayer, "By the light of Pulse, lend me your strength..."

From the farthest most reaches of the cosmos, she could sense the aura of Hallowed Pulse answering her call. She slowly opened her eyes to see that her hands were starting to glow in a yellowish hue.

Her eyes then darted to Serah, and she knew she had to act fast. The window of opportunity was closing fast, and it would only be a matter of time before Sephiroth turned his blade against them both. Taking in a deep breath, she casted a spell on Serah.

Serah in surprise, looked all around her to see that her body was starting to glow brightly. She then looked to Vanille, who had her palms directed at her. Before she could even acknowledge what was going on, Serah started to float upwards high into the air, letting out a squeak as she did so.

She looked back down to Vanille who had a remorseful look on her face and cried out, "W-What are you...?!"

Vanille bit back a sob and muttered out, "Forgive me... but it has to be this way... Go, warn the next world that Sephiroth's coming... You're their last hope, Serah..."

Before Serah could open her mouth to protest, Vanille sent the girl on her way.

Sephiroth was just about a few feet away of slicing Lightning in two, when both he and Lightning caught sight of a shooting star hurtling off and away into space. Immediately, the former halted in his stride, and narrowed his eyes at the streaking ball of light as it disappeared into the dark void.

He then turned his gaze towards the injured red-hair, who had her arms stretched in the direction of the ball of light. And he noticed that the other girl was gone.

It took him a second to realise what had happened, and although he was slightly happy that one of his victims did the sending part for him, it did not please him that the other had not been around long enough to watch both her sister and her friend die.

Leaving behind Lightning to cope with her injuries, Sephiroth landed back on the ground and started walking slowly towards Vanille. From nearby, Kadaj and his brothers had witnessed what had just taken place upon recovery, and the latter two were just as equally outraged.

"That was a mistake..." the third servant growled dangerously, and he slowly advanced towards Vanille. But a hand came up and blocked him at his chest.

He glanced to Kadaj with a questionable look, who in-turn told him curtly, "Let Father take care of this, Yazoo."

Both Yazoo and Loz frowned at his statement, and then followed his gaze towards their father, who was taking ominous steps towards the injured female.

With every step he took, Sephiroth closed the distance between himself and Vanille.

And all the while, both of them had locked eyes throughout the silent exchange.

Not too far away, Lightning who was barely alive, was helplessly witnessing Sephiroth's advance, and in her weakened state she struggled to fight off the agony, to cast a Cure spell on herself.

Sephiroth was soon towering right above Vanille, who was starting to falter in bravado under his intense gaze. Those piercing cat-like eyes were staring right into her soul, as though the man himself was concluding on his final judgement.

And then before she knew it, it was all over.

Without any warning, Sephiroth plunged his sword right into the helpless girl's chest, impaling directly in the centre of her heart. As the pain registered in her mind, Vanille let out a suffocated whimper, as she felt her life being sapped away from her form.

Horrified at what she was witnessing, Lightning let out a weak cry of "No...!"

For those few seconds of her life, everything seemed to have slowed down to a crawl. As she looked on helplessly, Vanille seemed to maintain her stiff position with the sword still deep in her chest. But then slowly, Vanille slowly went limp and her arms hung lifelessly at her side. Before long her body became like a lifeless puppet and just like that, she was dead.

With a light scoff of satisfaction, Sephiroth removed his sword from the corpse, blood was dripping from the business end of the blade.

He remained there for several moments, as if he had become a statue, but then he spoke out, "Truly a shame... my chosen messenger was sent out, without total despair sowed into her mind and soul... but the other will do for now."

Lightning was confused at first by what he said, but then she slowly realised who he was referring to seeing as Serah was conspicuously no longer at Vanille's side.

A small flicker of hope burned in her spirit and she thought to herself, _"At least my sister's okay..."_

As he continued staring out into the dark void, he called out sharply, "Kadaj!"

At his behest, Kadaj quickly brisked forth and got down to one knee before his Father.

"Yes Father?"

"Go on ahead to the next world, and test its heroes. Report back to me with your observation, and a specimen or two," Sephiroth ordered, "I wish to see what I am up against when I arrive."

With a maddening grin, Kadaj replied back, "At once, Father."

In a flash of green light, Kadaj disappeared from view, and a split second later Lightning felt a tremor rocket the asteroid. She heard a large crack coming from her right and she watched as a large chunk of the asteroid was separated from the rest.

It floated aimlessly away from the main asteroid for a brief moment before it suddenly shot off in a general direction, a trail of green mist being the only evidence of the departure. Once it was gone, Sephiroth turned his attention towards Lightning and glared her down dangerously.

"With that being said, we too must depart again," he muttered, "Truly you are a worthy opponent, Miss Farron. You will make for a fine disciple when I establish a brand new world."

Lightning raised an eyebrow of confusion. What did he mean by that?

Sephiroth raised a hand, and then suddenly the surface of the asteroid began to glow. He smiled down at the only remaining Farron, and she did not like the way he was expressing it.

"I'd advise you to hold still. Don't worry. You won't feel a thing."

Within seconds, the last thing Lightning ever saw was the eerie humming of Masamune and a bright flash which blinded her eyes and then... nothing.

* * *

Serah had no idea how long she had been flying across the stars.

Had it been days? Months? Years?

She could not really tell from the endless stars that flew by. But where space lacked in comprehension of time, it was made up for in abundance of marvels and beauty.

It was not possible for Serah to keep track of every single detail she had came across.

She flew past planets. She flew past nebulas. She flew past worlds that were seemingly habitable. It was something beyond what she could even imagine back home.

But there was only one detail she had kept notice of.

There were two suns that she had already flew by, and judging from what Kadaj had mentioned, Sephiroth's next target was three worlds away.

 **Three.**

And taking into account he also said that the duration was about three days, it meant that each solar system she past was equivalent to one day.

With that being said, Serah founded the travel slightly boring, with her only activity being actual stargazing. While it was fun and all, she just wished that her feet could just touch solid ground again. She just wanted to be back on a world, any world, just as long as it was habitable.

Then out of the corner of her eye, as though her prayers were answered, Serah watched as another gas giant star raced past her vision, temporarily blinding her in the process.

She quickly blinked out those black spots in her vision, unknown that she was about to arrive at her destination.

* * *

The world of Eos from space appeared naturally peaceful. Its great many land masses and continents were teeming with life. Vast riches of animals, plants, fungi and microscopic organisms shared this world, similar to all other planets filled with life.

And like most other worlds, Eos was also home to an intelligent species. A species that made use of what the planet had to offer to the fullest, and had populated the continents in vast pockets of civilization. Having occupied much of the world, meant that its people had begun branching out into different forms of society.

Different forms of governments, religion, societies. And even being subjected to different types of wonders. One frequent wonder would be the glamourous beauty of shooting stars as they streak across the night sky. Since they all fall at random in different locations, it meant that everyone was granted a wonderous spectacle.

But then there were meteors that also fall down from the heavens. Unlike shooting stars, they could arrive at any unexpecting moment. Be it night-time, or ever daytime.

But this one was different.

Compared to a regular meteor, this one rained through the atmosphere at a constant speed, rather than through increase.

And while meteors leave behind streaks of fire and smoke, this one left behind a trail of yellow-coloured dust. But it did not really matter, considering from those that witnessed it, it was tumbling down to the earth like a regular meteor.

And unbeknownst to the citizens of Accordo, their capital city of Altissia was the target of impact.

Neither was Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum, heir to the throne of Lucis and the prophesised Chosen King, as he and his entourage of his close companions walked further from the estate that housed Accordo's first secretary Camelia Claustra. Currently he was quite pleased with how the negotiations went down.

"You handled the terms well, Noctis," Gladiolus commented knowingly, "I might even say you made an impression on her."

Noctis gave off a plain shrug.

"What can I say? As King, I aim to impress."

"A commendable effort to be sure," Ignis concurred with a nod of his noggin, "But might I suggest we refocus on the task at hand?"

"Task?" Prompto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He means Leviathan," Gladiolus clarified.

Noctis nodded, "The agreed terms dictate that when the big, strong, ugly serpent emerges from the waters, we'll have to be there to make sure the citizens make it out safely."

"But that would also mean coming to blows with the Empire," Ignis pointed out.

Noctis made a small frown at the mentioning of their enemy.

"Hmm. Exactly. While I'm willing to bet that they'll concentrate most of their forces on the Leviathan and me specifically, there's also a good chance they'll try to play out the hero part too."

"Yeah! Then it'll be like with Titan all over again!" Prompto chimed in, "Claiming they've slayed it heroically when instead, it was because of our combined team effort!"

"Don't forget our Crown Prince receiving his blessing too," Gladiolus added in.

"Yeah, that too!" Prompto quickly piped a split-second after Gladiolus said his piece.

Noctis rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Anyway... the top of the line is that tomorrow, Luna will be at centre stage to awaken the beast. In short, we don't have a lot of time to plan out a strategy."

"Plus, if Ardyn and Ravus are here, that'll mean we'll have to be extra cautious in going about this whole catastrophe." Gladiolus surmised.

"No, I don't think we'll have much to worry about those two for now," Noctis stated in a matter-of-fact tone, "Considering that they are the top higher-ups here, they'll probably be having their hands full with Luna and the Hydraean."

Stopping short of his pace, he turned around to face his friends.

"So this is how we could play it out," he proposed, "While the Empire concentrates their forces on the Hydraean and yours truly, whatever pockets of divisions they sent out into the city you'll take care of. But not to the point of making yourself look like killers."

"Since when have we made ourselves look like murderers, huh?" Gladiolus questioned with a sly grin, "I mean, most people know that the Niffs are basically assholes, right?"

Noctis couldn't help but dwell a little on the sentence. He did have a point.

Eventually, he raised his arms in admittance.

"Okay, I'll give you that. But still, when the attacks start, you guys have to make sure that innocents don't get caught in the middle of it. So please... please try to at least isolate your fights with the soldiers?"

The trio looked to each other as they silently decided on their answer. After a minute of two, Ignis turned back to Noctis and reply, "As you wish, Your Majesty."

Noctis nodded back with affirmation as he turned around and began heading off again.

As his friends followed after him, Gladiolus whispered to Ignis and Prompto, "Unless they decide to resort to human shields."

After another few minutes of walking through the bustling streets, Prompto commented, "Ah... sure nice to be living the peaceful life again after a long trip."

Gladiolus chuckled a little and elbowed Prompto's side.

"Fess up, you just miss playing around with Talcott back in Lestallum."

Prompto sighed in disappointment.

"Ah... I like that kid. He was headstrong, brave and really smart. I wish I was like that when I was his age."

"Most people do not start out their lives nice and peaceful," Ignis told him, "But as they grow up, they strive to not let what moulds them from birth, get in the way of what defines them in their prime."

"I agree," Noctis spoke up, "Take it from me, Prompto. When I was young, I had to watch as one of my attendants died protecting me when a daemon snake lady attacked. Even now I still have visions about what happened that night."

He closed his eyes tightly and let out a deep sigh of sadness. Even to this day he could still also feel the warm wetness of her blood that had trickled down his injured face.

"But even so, I still had to carry on with my destiny before me," he continued, "I tried not to let the pain of the past take command of my actions, and instead tried to take joy in the fact that my attendant's sacrifice allowed me to survive and live to see another day. Yet at the end of the day however, it is I myself who dictates how I live my life to the fullest."

He casted a glance back to Prompto, "So whatever problems you had in the past, it's history now. You can never let go of it, but you can try to learn from it and move on. Okay?"

Prompto, who was surprised by his moving speech, had his mouth gaping open for quite some time. Even Gladiolus and Ignis had the same reactions.

But after a few moments of silence, Prompto exclaimed out, "OMG! Noctis?! Giving words of wisdom?! Now this I haven't seen before!"

"It is a first..." Ignis mumbled out, still finding it hard to believe that the Crown Prince was ever capable of such speeches.

Prompto obviously did not hear the bespectacled man as he continued.

"I think I feel better already! Gee thanks Noct! You sure know how to do peppy! I feel like we four could take on the Empire by ourselves!"

"Uh, Prompto..." Gladiolus spoke cautiously to him, noticing the annoyed glares of passerbys, "You might wanna –"

"You! Me! Ignis! Gladio! The Chocobros! Fighting together as one!" Prompto continued his happy rant, "You know what you guys? You know what? I dare even say we could even face down a million Titans! Ha ha ha! It's almost like a meteor of emboldened courage has just crash-landed on Eos!"

As the words left his mouth, all of a sudden the surrounding people were turning their attention away from Prompto into the sky. And then their annoyed expressions quickly turned sour and horrified.

Noticing this, Noctis and his entourage turned in the direction everyone else was facing. And then they saw it.

A bright streak of light hurtled out of the clouds and within seconds, it crashed landed somewhere not too far away from where they were standing.

The impact created a loud boom which sent tremors all across Altissia, which even caught the attention of the Oracle herself as she was tending to her things in the guest room at the Leville.

Recovering first, Noctis exclaimed to his friends, "C'mon! We'd better go check it out!"

As he raced off, Ignis quickly followed behind, and Gladiolus and Prompto brought up the rear, with the former slapping the back of the head of the latter.

" _Meteor of emboldened courage_ , huh?" Gladiolus glowered at Prompto as the other nursed his stinging head.

"It was the first thing that came to me..." Prompto mumbled like a kindergartner who just got berated by his mother.

It took the four about 400 meters to reach the impact zone, and when they got there, they were greeted by a large crowd who had gathered around the crater.

Even though he was now technically King of Lucis, Noctis was still not well-known and respected.

Like a regular person he had to squeeze his way through the crowd, spewing out apologies along the way, and ignoring the chidings and angry stares that were directed at him.

His other three friends were not doing any better than he was, with Ignis having to help Prompto get his entangled leg out from in-between a couple. How he even managed to do that was beyond him.

Eventually, Noctis burst out through the front lines of the crowd, and then slowly but cautiously he made his way over to the crater. Stopping short of it, he was pleasantly surprised to find what was inside of it.

Without even acknowledging where his friends were, he called back behind him, "Guys... you'd better come see this!"

He maintained his position even as Gladiolus, Ignis and Prompto eventually arrived at his side, and they too were as equally shocked as he was.

"Am I the only one seeing this, or do I need new prescription glasses?" Ignis muttered softly.

Prompto gasped out, "It's a girl!"

Gladiolus nodded his head grimly.

"And from the looks of things, she appears to be about twenty years of age."

"But that can't be right," Noctis stated, "She can't possibly be a human being."

Gladiolus turned to him.

"And what makes you think that, Your Highness?"

Noctis gave him a dumbfounded look.

"Came from the sky? Crash-landed like a freakin' meteor?"

Prompto gasped even louder as his deduction.

"It's an _alien_ girl!"

Suddenly, all four of them heard gasps coming from the girl.

Noctis looked back and saw that her chest was moving up and down irregularly.

"But that means she's still... alive?" he thought to himself in wonderment.

"It's not possible..." Ignis voiced out his thoughts, "No one could survive a crash like that..."

Noctis took a few steps towards the girl.

"Yeah? Tell that to her."

He carefully bended down and slowly, he lifted her upper body up carefully and gently, as though she were a million-dollar piece of porcelain.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked her softly.

At first, there was no answer, but then he watched as the eyelids slowly opened up. Those blue eyes were darting around to take in her surroundings, and then finally they locked with his own.

"You okay?" he asked her again slowly, "You had a pretty nasty crash."

There was a look of confusion on her face, and for a moment he wondered if she could even speak his language at all.

But then there was a look of terror on her face, and then she cried out, "Sephiroth!"

That caught his full attention.

"Huh?" he muttered out.

The girl placed a hand on his shoulder and gripped it tightly.

"T-There's no time..." she cried out in his language (surprisingly), "He's c-coming... S-Sephiroth... is coming!"

With a look of absolute confusion, he glanced up and shared it with Gladiolus, Ignis and Prompto, all of whom were also as confused as he was.

Looking back at her again, Noctis asked, "... Who?"

* * *

 **The Dagger of God is not an actual weapon from Lightning Returns (seriously, does anyone still play that piece-of-shit game?" It's more of an original creation of mine, taking into account that Bhunivelze gave Lightning a brand new set of weapons, but since there were no daggers I just thought it fun to throw one in. Also, you would note that even though Lightning is no longer Etro's Champion, she still retains her gunblade Overture.**

 **And just for reassurance purposes, while this story is inspired by Infinity War, unlike that movie NOBODY will die in this story.**

 **That's it for now I guess. For those of you who had played the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy games, if there are any continuity errors do feel free to bring them up in the reviews section (especially since I've never played Final Fantasy XIII, and I wish to make this story as canon-based as possible). Also, if you guys have any suggestions of how you would like this story to play out, again feel free to bring them up. Your thoughts are always gladly appreciated!**


	2. Cautionary Tale

**And so we continue where we left off with Serah now conversing with the Chocobros! XIII meets XV! How cool is that?!**

 **Ahem... but in all seriousness, ENJOY THE CHAPTER!**

* * *

Noctis' head rang with the name 'Sephiroth' as the next thirty minutes went by.

After Ignis' diagnosis that the girl had suffered minor injuries (despite the huge crash), the four took her back to their hotel in Altissia, all at the same time as Gladiolus and Prompto attempted to herd away the crowd that was following them close at heels.

And while all the signs suggested that the Empire had not taken notice of what had taken place, Noctis was still wary. They could be lying in wait for all intents and purposes, probably seizing the chance to ambush their hotel room and apprehend this girl who called herself Serah.

Or if they preferred the more tortuous route, they could send in either Ravus to taunt the Prince some more into submission, or Ardyn to annoy them into becoming distracted, or both.

Either way, Serah was Noctis' main focus at the moment.

Her little stunt from the sky was suffice enough to put on hold his plans for the Leviathan. But considering that the beast would rise from the waters of Altissia tomorrow, he would need to make this one short and sweet.

"Please, I swear to all of you! I'm telling you the truth!" Serah's voice implored from behind him.

From his place at the balcony overlooking Altissia, Noctis turned back around to observe her in the midst of a conversation with his other three friends.

Ignis, as skeptical as always, stated, "I must voice my opinion, however grounded to realism as it seems, that it is ridiculous to suggest that you landed here from thousands of light years away. Do you even have any proof of this "Sephiroth" character?"

"We don't have time for a heated debate!" Serah snapped back, her desperation was mounting with every passing second, "Sephiroth is a power-hungry psychopath! He invades worlds, slaughters innocents and harvests their souls! No one is left spared by his incursion!"

Gladiolus raised an eyebrow.

"So he's like what? Devourer of Worlds or somethin'?"

Serah nodded her head in his direction.

"Yes, exactly! I don't what his true goal is... but I know that it involves something that Sephiroth describes as the "Promised Land"."

She paused for a moment to get another question from the four, but there was only silence. She took it as a prompt to continue on.

"I don't know what that land is, or why he's working towards that goal..." she continued, "But I do know that before that happens, countless more planets will fall prey to his wrath."

She let out a shaky deep breath.

"... Which brings me to your people."

Noctis raised an eyebrow as he slowly sauntered away from the balcony towards the others.

Serah closed her eyes tightly, and took in a huge deep breath of air to steel herself for the dramatic moment.

"Sephiroth has chosen your world as his next target."

At this, Prompto and Gladiolus became horrified, Ignis maintained his doubtful stare but had this time had an eyebrow raised, and Noctis narrowed his eyes in grimness at her revelation.

"Then that means..." Prompto muttered softly, his voice suggesting he was not willing to believe what he was being told.

Serah nodded her head.

"Your people are running on a time limit. If you're not prepared, once Sephiroth arrives... it'll be all over quickly."

Her bone-chilling warning hung over the four men as they glanced at one another with uncomfortable silence.

After a moment or two, Noctis glanced at Serah and requested, "Could you... excuse us for a few minutes?"

Serah with widened eyes, opened her mouth to protest but the Prince had already turned his attention away from her.

"Guys. Bedroom. Now." Noctis ordered in a grim tone and brisked away.

His three comrades quickly followed suit after the royal as they entered a bedroom and locked the door behind them, leaving behind Serah who unbeknownst to them was slowly becoming more distressed than ever.

And who could blame her considering that any precious time that was being wasted would bring them closer to Sephiroth's imminent arrival?

As Prompto sat down at the side of one of the two beds in the room, Noctis began to address them.

"Well guys... What do you make of what she's saying?"

Ignis stroked his chin.

"I still have my skepticisms with regards to this whole ordeal. But if what she is saying is true..."

"Then the Empire's no longer our biggest worry," Gladiolus finished off with a solemn shake of his head and a dark grunt, "Eos may be on the verge of an apocalypse from outer space."

"Yeah, like in those movies," Prompto chimed in, "Except that it's just one guy against an entire world of people."

"I would find that hilarious if it were true," Ignis remarked, "But from the way Serah was describing this Sephiroth, it would appear that he may be much more than just a mere extra-terrestrial invader."

Gladiolus hummed with folded arms.

"All that matters now, is that we have to warn every major city, ever major settlement in Eos of the bastard's coming. We have to at least defend ourselves when the time comes."

"Which leads us to our next problem," Ignis told him in a serious tone, "How in the world do we convince 4 billion people that someone from outer space is coming to destroy Eos?"

Gladiolus made a simple shrug and folded his arms.

"Well, considering that we're Prince Noctis' entourage, they'll probably believe us quickly."

Ignis frowned in bemusement.

"There are a hundred ways that I could describe just how dumb that idea is. Also, need I remind you that the whole world still believes that His Highness is dead?"

"Damn those Niffs..." Prompto grumbled and he stared hard at the floor, "Why do they always have to make things so complicated for us?"

As he left Gladiolus to dwell over his ideas, Ignis looked back to Noctis who was clearly trailed off into deep thought.

"Noct, you seemed to be troubled by Miss Farron's words," he commented with concern, "How would you want us to proceed?"

Noctis' eyes darted to his sworn adviser, and then chuckled lightly.

"I thought you were the one to give me all the advises."

"When it comes to royal matters, yes," Ignis replied back, "But this is an entirely different case altogether. Your bloodline is the only one that has the power to possibly save Eos from Sephiroth, you know?"

There was a sigh that sounded more like an unintended groan, and Noctis replied back, "Don't have to remind me all the time..."

Suddenly, there came loud banging from the door, which caused all four men to jump in surprise.

"Open this door! Now!" Serah's voice demanded from the other side.

Ignis took a step towards the door, "I don't suppose where you come from, you have learnt the rules of common courtesy?"

"I don't care!" Serah snapped back stubbornly, "Let me in! THIS INSTANT!"

Prompto, who was instantly frightened by her raised tone, meekly advised, "I'd think it best to indulge the lady..."

"YOUR FRIEND'S WISER THAN THE REST OF YOU!"

"... ... I feel happier now..." Prompto spoke up more beefily, which earned him an annoyed eye roll by Gladiolus.

Noctis and Ignis shared a stare at one another for a few seconds, and the former gave off a shrug.

"Let her in..." he grumbled reluctantly.

Ignis turned the knob on the door, and in the next second he founded himself squished between the wall and the door that Serah forcefully threw open. Storming right into the centre of the room, she confronted the wide-eyed men.

"You can take my word for it or not at all, but the fact remains that Sephiroth will be here to slaughter ever single person on this planet!" she snapped at them angrily, unhappy that the dire situation was not being taken with extreme seriousness.

"There's no more time for discussions or debates! We have to act NOW! Otherwise, we'll be letting the inevitable happen sooner rather than later!"

With her hands at her hips, she began inspecting Prompto and then Gladiolus as though she were a security officer or a prison guard.

Prompto let out a small nervous wave of his hand as her eyes travelled the length of his body.

When she began scanning Gladiolus, the big man was doing his best not to feel intimidated. Noctis could almost make out the fear in his eyes. It was almost as if Gladiolus was feeling miniscule compared to this girl who had a seemingly powerful presence.

Finally, she turned her attention to Noctis, and for a moment Noctis thought that he was having an intense stare down with her. But a few seconds in, and his guard quickly disintegrated under her hardened gaze.

What was the deal with Serah anyway? She was scaring the bejesus out of all of them more than her mentioning of Sephiroth!

As soon as her inspection was complete, she asked out loud, "Who among you four is the leader?"

Slowly, Prompto started to raise his hand in a dramatic fashion, and all eyes were turned to him.

And then he gestured to Noctis in with a circular swirl.

Noctis narrowed his eyes at him and mumbled, "Way to throw me under the–"

He never got to finish it, for Serah was suddenly dragging him by his arm back out to into the living room. Before his friends could even react, she slammed the door shut on all of them. A few seconds later, and Ignis muttered, "I think my spectacles are broken..."

She shoved Noctis onto the comfy couch, and she rounded on him before he could even comprehend his situation.

Noctis glowered at Serah with a wary glare.

"Y'know... something tells me that the biggest threat's standing right in front of me,"

Serah reciprocated his expression with a scowl of her own.

"... Compliment taken."

Noctis maintained his glare for a couple more moments before he let out a sigh. His features softened in exhaustion and he raised up his arms in defeat.

"Alright, I give..." he muttered, but then he inquired sceptically, "But seriously though, even if we could mobilise the entire world to prep for Sephiroth, how are we supposed to beat him? You said it yourself – he destroys entire civilizations across the universe."

Serah folded her arms.

"You're the ring leader around here. You tell me."

Dumbfounded, Noctis sighed with a shake of his head.

"Man… the guys are doing me a REAL solid here…" he thought to himself.

He looked Serah directly in the eyes and told her clearly and evenly, "Look, I still haven't the faintest idea of what Sephiroth is truly capable of. If we go in blind on this and just throw in everything we've got, we'd probably end up on the death row quicker rather than later. And that's assuming all the other worlds had all done the same thing."

He slowly got to his feet, and Serah was thankfully backing away a little as he did so.

"We'd have to approach this threat from a different angle. Do it in a way that gives us an edge over whatever Sephiroth's cooked up for us," he added in seriously.

Serah nodded at his suggestion.

"That's a good strategy. Not attacking head-on. That wasn't so hard was it?"

Noctis sent a small glare her way, to which she ignored.

"So do you guys have an army?" Serah asked.

Noctis shrugged a little.

"Well… the only army that's encompassing the entire world now… is the Niflheim Empire. They've probably got tons of equipment and rare resources we'll need to fend off Sephiroth."

Serah brightened a little upon hearing this.

"Great! Then let's go make contact with them!" she exclaimed and hurried towards the door.

The faster they could get in contact with this world's Empire, the better. They would need all the help they could get against the coming danger.

But just as she was within arm's reach of the knob, Noctis suddenly appeared in front of her in a flash of fiery blue sparks, and with a surprised yelp she came to a halt before she could bump into him.

"With one complication," Noctis added in as he willed away his sword, "The Niffs are our enemies."

Serah raised an eyebrow.

"Enemies?"

Nodding his head, Noctis strode along towards the centre of the room.

"It's a complicated story…" he explained, "It goes way back across many generations in my family."

He sat down on the couch, and Serah joined him shortly after.

Noticing the silent curious look she was giving him, he opted to continue.

"For about two thousand years, the royal family of Lucis has been at odds with the royal family of Niflheim. While my family wanted diversity amongst the people, Niflheim favoured the unity of the world under their banner. As you can imagine, both ideologies were the sole drivers of our conflict."

"You're a royal?" Serah asked quizzically.

Glancing a saddened look at her, Noctis hummed back.

"Yeah… big shocker huh?"

"Oh uh, o-of course not!" Serah stuttered out nervously, terrified that she had been threatening a member of a royal family, "I-I mean, I knew it the first moment I saw y-you and…"

Her rambling was cut off by a bit of light-heartened chuckle coming from Noctis.

"It's quite alright," he assured her with a small wave of his hand, "Most of Eos barely even acknowledges my existence as the Prince of Lucis anyway."

And then his expression became crestfallen, as dark memories played out in his mind again.

But Serah barely noticed it as she asked, "But if you are a prince… then why are you all the way out here?"

Noctis visibly flinched uncomfortably.

"That's… a long story too…"

Serah was finally able to pick up on the saddened look, and she realised that she may have pried too deep into his personal space. Feeling ashamed, she decided to back off quickly.

"S-Sorry… I shouldn't have pressed you that far for your story," she apologised genuinely, "If it's something painful that you don't wish to recall, I can understand and respect your boundaries."

Meanwhile from the bedroom, the other trio was overhearing their conversation, with Ignis being the main conveyer.

"Well, what's up with 'em both Iggy?" Prompto asked as he and Gladiolus stared at their bespectacled friend with anticipation. Currently they were betting on how the interaction with Serah was going for Noctis.

Ignis with his ear pressed against the keyhole, replied back, "It appears that His Highness and Serah are warming up to one another."

Prompto grinned from ear to ear, "I knew it! They're gobsmacked for love!" He whirled on Gladiolus and outstretched an open palm, "Pay up!"

Gladiolus groaned in annoyed defeat and fished out 500 gil from his pocket.

He slammed the money right onto Prompto's hand, much harder than he intended.

The silence hanging over both Noctis and Serah was broken by the sound of a girlish shriek coming from the bedroom.

Noctis rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Give a break…"

"I don't suppose that those guys aren't just your regular friends?" Serah questioned with an amused smile, as her eyes trailed back to the bedroom door.

"Nah… they're my entourage," Noctis replied back, "The man with the glasses is Ignis – my adviser. The brawny asshole's Gladiolus – my sworn guardian."

 _"I HEARD THAT!"_ Gladiolus shouted back from the other end of the door.

"And the last one who you mentioned just now is Prompto," Noctis continued on, "He's my… you know, actually… he's just a friend from school that's accompanying me."

 _"Just a FRIEND?!"_ Prompto's voice cried out from the other end in annoyance.

Noctis sighed, "He's also a sharpshooter."

 _"Yeah! With the Golden Gun! And don't you forget it!"_ Prompto yelled boastfully.

Noctis turned back to Serah.

"With that said, you mind if they could come out now?"

Serah stared at the bedroom door for a while and then shrugged.

"Yeah, sure. Why not?"

With a nod, Noctis glanced at the door.

"Alright guys! You can come out now!"

In no time at all, the door opened, and Noctis' entourage re-entered the living room.

"Hoi! Ten thousand years will give you such a crick in the neck!" Prompto exclaimed out dramatically as he acted out as though his neck was really stiff.

"Oh really? Then how's about a little Gladio spa treatment?" Gladiolus offered with a teasing grin, "Free of charge."

He was already moving over to Prompto who quickly dropped his act once he stared at those big, grubby hands of his. Like a terrified mouse, he fled over to the balcony.

"On second thought, I think I'm feeling a lot better now..." he stated nervously.

With a shake of his head, Ignis focused his attention on Noctis and Serah.

"If I may direct His Highness from your conversation for a moment, Miss Farron?" Ignis spoke to Serah then turned to the Prince, "There's been an update on Altissia's news channel."

Noctis raised an eyebrow. Could it be about Serah's sudden appearance?

He was handed a smartphone from Ignis who furthered, "You might want to see this for yourself."

His eyes were fully directed on the contents of the news page, and Noctis remained silent as he browsed through the words and the sentences.

According to the headline of the article, it read **"Leviathan Summoning Pushed Forward! Now Expected to Take Place Before Nightfall!"**

Within mere seconds, he let out an irritated grunt and tossed the phone to onto the unoccupied seat of the couch beside him.

Gladiolus noticed his reaction and asked, "What's wrong, Noct?"

There was only silence from the Prince seeing as his eyes were transfixed on the floor.

In his stead, Ignis spoke for him, "It would appear that Miss Lunafreya is now going to call on the Hydraean earlier than anticipated."

Prompto became alarmed at his statement. "How earlier are we talking about?" he questioned anxiously.

"I would say before dusk settles in this evening," Ignis muttered with a serious frown, as Serah reached over Noctis to take the phone.

She glanced down at it and then at its owner for permission. The Prince's bespectacled advisor nodded his response, which immediately prompted Serah to begin reading the article as well.

Gladiolus who too was looking over the news on his phone, grumbled softly, "Looks like the Empire's suspecting something's up."

"Could it be about what happened earlier?" Prompto asked aloud to his friends, "With the whole "girl crash-landing into the ground" gig?"

He immediately caught the death glare of the person in question as she snapped at him, "This **girl** has ears, you know!"

"I highly doubt it, or else the Empire would've been searching for her by now," Ignis stated plainly as his stroked his chin like he normally did whenever he was in deep thought, "I suspect that the tremors earlier have led them to suspect otherwise that the Leviathan's waking up sooner than expected."

Gladiolus let out a scoff, "Really? And what were those nutjobs all doin' when Serah here made a lot of noise in her crash-landing? Afternoon break? Typical of 'em to come up with their own fantasies..."

"But would mean... Miss Luna's gonna be working overtime before the day's out," Prompto muttered out of realisation.

"And that leaves us with little time to plan now," Noctis suddenly proclaimed and immediately all eyes were turned to him.

Slowly, his head rose up and his narrowed eyes met the other pairs.

"One thing is for certain. If the Tide Mother's coming out tonight, then we have to move quickly," he told them, "The Empire is probably already prepared, but we aren't."

And then remembering the other issue sitting beside him, he turned to face her.

"I'm so sorry, Serah," he apologised truthfully, "But looks like my friends and I have to make this our top priority first. Sephiroth's gonna have to wait."

There was a look of hurt on Serah's face as he spoke out, and he could not help but feel a little guilty.

Here he was, shifting their situation to the more grounded one rather than the extra-terrestrial one, and now depending on how fast Sephiroth was travelling to Eos, he may very well have sealed the fate of his world.

But then he thought about Leviathan and Luna.

If Noctis had chosen to stick with the alternative, he would be forced to forsake his role in the Prophecy of the True King, risk losing the Mark of the Hydraean, and risk losing Luna should she decide to go all in during the chaos.

Coped with the direct threat of the Empire, that danger was more immediate compared to what was heading their way.

Just then, the sounds of loud sirens had suddenly begun blaring all across the city.

From his place at the balcony, Prompto gazed outside to see what was going on.

Gladiolus frowned a little once he heard the sirens. "Looks like actions are speaking for themselves now," he grumbled.

Ignis focused his attention on Prompto, anxious to get some information about the events transpiring outside. "Well Prompto?" he asked him.

Prompto continued staring out for a couple more seconds, then he turned around to face the others.

"There's so many things goin' on out there, but I'll be brief," Prompto responded as quickly as he could, "Altissia's given the order for a city-wide evacuation, and there're Niff ships heading straight for the bay as we speak."

"Nif ships?" Noctis questioned back and shot to his feet, "How many?" "I'd say armada-sized!" Prompto replied back with thrown up arms.

With pursed lips, Noctis muttered a curse under his breath and stormed all the way over to the balcony. Prompto quickly hopped out of the way of the Crown Prince and hurried back into the living room.

With hardened eyes, Noctis stared up and outwards at the late afternoon sky, where Niflheim airships were indeed heading off in a general direction – towards the bay. At ground level, he could see local guardsmen doing their best to escort panicking citizens away.

And with all of this in mind, Noctis knew that there was not much time left before catastrophe struck. He spun around to face his entourage.

"We gotta move. Now!" he stated and he marched straight for the door.

"So we stick to the agreement?" Ignis clarified, to which the Prince nodded back.

"Once the Hydraean wakes up, all hell is gonna break loose," Noctis stated, "Find whatever stragglers that are left and get them to safety!"

"Yes, Your Highness!" Gladiolus nodded his head.

Just as Noctis was about to open the front door, he heard Serah calling out, "Wait!"

Immediately reminded of the last occupant in the hotel room, Noctis looked back to see the pink-haired woman hanging just behind Gladiolus, a concerned look on her face.

"I understand that this threat seems dangerous," she said, "B-But is there anything that I could help out with?"

Noctis and his friends casted eyes at each other for a second, and then the former told her, "You can help my friends out with the evacuation. Ignis will run you through on the details."

It was to his surprise that Serah responded with, "Not what I've had in mind, Noctis."

The four men stared at her with surprised looks.

Serah fidgeted a little with a smile of awkwardness.

"I mean... don't take this the wrong way Your Highness, but your friends here have pretty much got the evacuation covered. They seem to be tough enough to watch each other's backs. And besides, I'm still technically foreign to your world. But _you_ on the other hand?"

Almost immediately, Gladiolus, Ignis and Prompto glanced at one another and then turned to face Noctis, the logic dawning on them.

"Serah does make a valid point, Noct," Ignis mused with a stroke of his chin, "Without us, you're going to be facing the Hydraean. Alone. You're probably going to need some form of backup."

He then faced Serah again.

"I assume that by your logic, you are a fighter?"

Serah nodded her head.

"Yeah, I am. Although unfortunately, I lost my weapon sometime before Sephiroth..."

It just hurt her to reminisce the moment she parted ways with Mog. And now thanks to Sephiroth that she was not upon the New World, she may never get the chance to see him again.

But she forced herself not to show any emotion to the four men, especially since that there was a local threat that she was hell-bent on participating in. The least she could do to earn the trust of the locals was to at least safeguard their lives against this Tide Mother beast.

Noctis took notice of her trailing sentence however, but he chose not to press further into it, given their present situation.

At the same time he felt that temptation to tell her to join the evacuation instead. Fighting an Astral as tall as a mountain was no joke. But then Gladiolus would have chided him for wasting precious time.

Summoning a sword into his open hand, Noctis handed it over to Serah. "Here," he said, "Think you can use this?"

Serah inspected the material of the blade for a moment and performed a little waving trick as though she were play-acting a sword fight.

"Take good care of yourself out there," Noctis said with a look of amusement on his face, "Enhancer's attacks pack more than a punch."

Serah lowered her blade and nodded her response at the Prince.

With that settled, Noctis proclaimed, "Alright guys! Let's do this thing!"

He opened the door and raced out, with the others following close behind.

* * *

Lady Lunafreya was nearly beside herself when she got word that the time for the ritual of communion had been pushed to this evening. And while there was little that she could do to protest the Empire's decision, that did not stop her from speaking out against the sudden move.

Apparently, it was all due in-part to the tremor that rocked Altissia earlier.

The Empire was more than likely spooked that the Leviathan may waking up sooner than expected. Heck, she could even see the fear in the eyes of her brother Ravus when he told her of the news.

Of course, her questioning of a decision of the Empire led to more rifles being trained on her, and by that point she was hardly fazed anymore.

After years of having to be challenged by a higher military power, Lunafreya had come to grips with withstanding intimidation and fear-driven tactics.

Although her brother Ravus had ensured less security around her as time went on, she was no less wary about what the Empire wanted to use her for.

They had used her role in the True King Prophecy to their advantage.

When she summoned the Archaean, the Empire turned their weapons on him and made a large target practise out of him – they took credit for his supposed fall later on.

And now they were going to do it again with the Hydraean, with the destruction of the city of Altissia being the consolation prize.

It was times like these that she wished that the Empire had not existed at all, that they strove for more peaceful times than chaotic times.

Yet here she was, walking at a snail's pace towards the altar overlooking the bay.

All around her, battleships were hovering in the evening sky in encirclement around the bay – their cannons all being trained at the water surface. Behind her was a legion of soldiers that were training their guns at her back, ensuring that she did as she was told.

With the Trident being tightly gripped in her sweaty palms, Lunafreya's eyes remained fixed at the altar, at the stage where history would play out.

Yet as she continued to close the distance with her destiny, she could not help but feel a twinge of nervousness ebbing away at her thoughts.

Unlike Titan and Ramuh, Leviathan was said to have a harboured hatred against mankind.

Her rage was so powerful, it could power a megatsunami capable of sinking an entire continent. Within just an hour, about half of humanity would be dead in an instant.

If that rage was stoked during the ritual, Lunafreya was more than willing to give up her own life to satiate the beast.

Her main concern was Altissia and the surrounding regions of Accordo.

She had been praying for days that everyone in the nation would be spared of the Hydraean's wrath by the time Noctis had forged a covenant with her.

Speaking of whom, Lunafreya was wondering where the True King was at the moment.

Surely, he must have been spurred into action once the news broke out about the ritual?

She was hopeful that he was already here in Altissia, else Accordo is set for a permanent dip under the sea.

With her first steps, Lunafreya sets foot at the very edge of the altar, and from there she scanned the calm waters of the bay.

As if on cue, the battleships casted down searchlights onto her, as though Lunafreya was preparing to give a live concert performance in front of a crowd.

She was going to give a live performance alright, but unfortunately her main audience was going to be the Tide Mother, and the Empire.

Slowly, she took in calm, deep breaths to steady her bearings, and then, she began to sing out a haunting melody. Her voice felt foreign, maybe even alien, even to herself, but Lunafreya was quite to it by now.

As her song echoed out across the waters, a tense silence slowly followed. Nothing seemed to be happening at all. The only sounds heard were the booming engines of Niflheim's airships, and the distant cries of the citizens that were being evacuated.

A small voice lingered at the back of her mind and it told her that maybe the Hydraean had deliberately ignored her.

But Lunafreya swept that thought aside.

She knew that the Astral would be entitled to answer the call, else she may not even deserve that title at all.

And then all of a sudden, a response was heard.

 _"What fool mortal dares break the slumber of the Tide!?"_

"No turning back now..." Lunafreya thought mentally and she took a step closer to the edge.

"It is I, Lunafreya, blood of the Oracle!" she proclaimed out loud boldly, "Goddess of the Seas, I beseech you: enter into this covenant that the King might reclaim the Stone!"

Within seconds, the almighty Astral burst through the surface of the water in all of her monstrous splendour.

Airships that were close to her were wise enough to steer clear of the beast.

Powerful waves began rushing the borders of the bay, unleashing large splashes and cascades of rain that drenched buildings and roads.

The Tide Mother slithered in a circular motion like a serpent until her eyes made contact with Lunafreya's. She lowered herself until she was close enough to confront the Oracle head-on.

 _"This wretched pile of bone and flesh, ignorant of that which governs All, comes to requisition the might of a goddess?"_

Lunafreya's eyes narrowed with determination, "I do."

The Hydraean's narrowed eyes darkened and bore deep into her soul.

 _"And am I to presume that you speak so callously on behalf of the Chosen King? He, who would purge all of darkness from this world?"_

"Yes," was Lunafreya's simple response.

Leviathan continued to inspect the female for any signs of malice, for any character that spoke of her deception. But she saw nothing that was against this Oracle's personality.

Slowly, her tense body relaxed just a little bit, and her head lowered more to the woman's level.

 _"If this were any normal circumstance, I would have devoured you where you stood. However... the situation has changed for the worse. And therefore I am forced to set aside grudges of events long passed. I shall grant the True King his covenant."_

Lunafreya became surprised by this proclamation. "Y-You are?" she asked for clarification.

Odd... she had been expecting a much fiercer reception to her plea.

Leviathan moved her head slowly in such a way that it looked like she was nodding.

 _"Indeed, Oracle. The events of the Prophecy that had been mandated eons past, bears altered significance with what is happening at present."_

"What...?" Lunafreya muttered softly to herself. What did the Hydraean mean by that?

The Prophecy... has _changed?_

As though she had heard her thoughts, Leviathan continued.

 _"A new threat approaches this planet from beyond the stars, even more threatening than the Scourge that plagues our star. A being who seeks to bend entire worlds and civilizations to his endearing will. Soon, he shall desecrate our soil with blood, and assimilate everything impermanent into his collective."_

The Astral leaned closer to the astonished Oracle who was hanging on to her every word.

 _"This world must be saved from the being's wrath, and the True King will be a piece on the board when the time is nigh. As the Oracle, the task falls to you to ensure his survival until the very end of the coming conflict."_

As Lunafreya contemplated her warning, the Hydraean rose back up to her full height and let out a mighty roar. Her body began to glow in a orange hue.

 _"His servant of darkness will soon be here! Go, Lunafreya, blood of the Oracle! Find the True King and give him my Mark!"_

Within seconds, Leviathan disappeared in a flash of light. Blinded for a brief moment, Lunafreya shielded her eyes.

When the light finally disappeared, she opened her eyes and caught sight of a orange orb hovering over the calming waters of the bay. Realising what it was, she stretched a hand out to it, and it flew over to her palm.

As it hovered over her hand, Lunafreya brought it closer to her to inspect it. Within the orb she could make out the faint lines that made up the Mark of the Hydraean.

Acting with haste, Lunafreya turned around and began to brisk her way from the altar.

* * *

 **And there we have it! The second chapter is complete!**

 **For those of you who are presently following my story from the first chapter, do take note that I had decided to move it onto the Final Fantasy VII main page of this website. This is because I had done a lot of thinking about the plot, and that I had decided that this story, while its mostly based in the XV world of Eos, would be more of a somewhat continuation of the events of VII.**

 **And with that, I'll see you guys later!**


	3. Encounter with a God's Son

The rumbling sounds of the Hydraean emerging from the waters rang in Noctis' ears as he raced across the abandoned streets that had just been inhabited just minutes earlier. While there were no noticeable Niflheim soldiers littering the streets between him and Serah and the bay, it still took a bit a running just to reach the altar.

Amidst the chaos, he was hoping and praying in his mind that Lunafreya was alright.

If the legends of the Hydraean were really true, then she was going to have a rough time with the beast. **If** she could hold out on her own and survive that is.

And speaking of Serah, he was surprised that she could keep up with him at the pace that he was running. She did not appear to be out of breath, and she showed no signs of slowing down. Maybe there was more to this young woman than he had first thought.

"Hey!" he called over his shoulder to her, "You ever been in a fight before?"

"Who? Me? Of course!" Serah replied back with a curt nod, "I've faced down tons of monsters and soldiers! What's a few more to add on to my kill list?"

Just as she said it, they both turned a corner and came across a patrol of infantry troopers. Spotting them they immediately trained their weapons at them both.

Noctis shrugged and summoned Engine Blade II.

"Well, looks like it's your lucky day."

Both he and Serah got into offensive stances, and when the soldiers opened fire, they charged.

Noctis went into his Warp Drive and zipped straight at the nearest soldier. From there it turned into a tornado frenzy. Back and forth he went as he cut them down; blue sparks were flashing with every teleportation.

Serah meanwhile was easily taking down every trooper that got in her way. With precise strikes and slashes, she took out their weapons first before going after the users themselves. She was quite surprised that she still had it in her, considering the last time she took part in combat a lifetime ago.

Within seconds, both of them stood proud and victorious over the dead corpses. Against their abilities and their strength, the infantry never stood a chance.

With a nod to each other, both took off once again down the streets.

"C'mon!" Noctis exclaimed out loud, "The bay ought to be just around the corner."

"And what's the plan when we get there?" Serah asked, her eyes gazing up to the skies, to find the monster that Noctis and his entourage were talking about earlier. So far the place seemed to be clear of any signs of this "Tide Mother".

Noctis shrugged.

"Beats me! I'm making this up as I'm go!"

"And I doubt Miss Ocean's gonna be happy making an appointment with you!" Serah joked.

"Eh, what the heck," Noctis replied back, "The Hydraean doesn't agree with any mortal being."

But then all of a sudden, there was a huge explosion as a monstrous serpent-like creature emerged in an explosion of a thousand cascading water droplets. Both Noctis and Serah stopped short as they watched the phenomena.

"That's the Hydraean?" Serah questioned in awe amazement, and a slight look of familiarity, "She looks a bit like a Leviathan!"

Noctis rubbed his neck in awkwardness.

"That's because... that _is_ Leviathan..."

There was a brief pause, Noctis turned around to see Serah staring at him out of absolute bewilderment.

"A Leviathan?!" she exclaimed out of total shock.

"... Yup..."

"Well! What a coincidence!" Serah commented knowingly, "Where I come from, there's also a Leviathan!"

Noctis raised an eyebrow, his curiosity peaking a little at her statement.

"Really? Is your one any better and less grumpy than the one we got?" he asked, a thumb gesturing back to Leviathan who was towering over the entire city, imposing her divine presence.

"Yeah, well funny thing is... our Leviathan is just a legend. Simply a fal'Cie responsible for purifying water."

Noctis' curious mood died almost as quickly as shattering glass.

"Oh, I see..." he acknowledged in slight disappointment, but then another thought came to mind.

"But now that you mentioned it, what exactly is a fal'Cie?"

Serah rubbed the back of her neck.

"Heh heh, it's kind of hard and complicated to explain but let's just say that – wait, is the Hydraean supposed to do _that?_ "

With eyebrows raised at her sudden change in mood, Noctis turned towards the monster and immediately widened his eyes in surprise. Right before his eyes he watched as Leviathan began to give off a bright glow that encompassed her entire body, roaring aloud as she did so.

It took no more than a few seconds for him to realise what was happening; the phenomena occurred in a similar fashion as to when he forged his covenant with both Titan and Ramuh.

Noctis let out a stifling gasp.

The light became so bright that the both of them were forced to seal their eyes tight and turned away to avoid being blinded. And as fast as the flash came, it disappeared.

Noctis who was the first to recover, was not as surprised by Serah when he saw that Leviathan was suddenly gone, as though she had never emerged from the depths of Altissia to begin with.

"She's… gone…" Serah muttered out in shock.

"The Hydraean… could she have…?" Noctis murmured to himself in deep thought.

No. No. It could not be possible! The Astrals would only do that magic trick once they had forged a covenant with the Chosen King – he WAS the Chosen King! There couldn't be another that the Hydraean had deemed worthy of her mark... could there?

He turned to Serah and said, "C'mon! We gotta keep moving!"

The pair kept up their running pace as they continued to navigate the abandoned streets of the city and tear past infantry patrols. While the soldiers appeared to be no more than mere obstacles blocking their path, the pair pushed on until they finally arrived at the bay.

Up in front of them, Noctis' eyes widened with horror upon seeing his childhood friend being threatened by what appeared to be a dozen or so Niff soldiers that were training their guns at her person. All the while she was maintaining eye contact with them, unaware of the Prince's arrival.

"I do not expect you to understand!" Lunafreya was pleading with the soldiers, "But I beseech you all! I must find the Prince immediately!"

One of the soldiers scoffed, "And we have strict orders from High Commander Ravus to not let you go anywhere beyond the Empire's jurisdiction!"

"Stand down, Oracle! Now!" another soldier ordered sternly, "By the High Commander's wishes, we do not want to resort to physical altercations! But if you do not comply, then things will start getting nasty!"

Lunafreya frowned at the soldier's threat, and then darted her eyes behind the patrol. When she saw him, she smirked ever so slyly.

"Then so be it!" she declared boldly to the soldiers, "But know that it shall not be my life that will end today!"

With an irritated grunt, the second soldier gestured for his comrades to prepare to fire on the Oracle. But before either of them could even pull the trigger, their formation was swiftly broken by Noctis warping right in the middle of them.

With little time to react, the soldiers out of pure instinct started firing their bullets aimlessly, with nary a worry or care if the result was even friendly fire.

But like the previous patrols, Noctis easily made easy work of the troops as he leapt over their heads and cut them down one by one.

He could manage this all by himself he knew, but Noctis was also thankful that Serah had joined him in the fray; she was taking out soldiers that were attempting to shoot at him from behind. After two minutes or so of sword-slicing and guns blazing, all of the soldiers were dead on the ground, with Noctis and Serah standing over them.

And then in a gradual fashion, Noctis slowly turned around to face the Oracle. When their eyes made contact, time seemed to have suddenly slowed down to a mere crawl.

There she was, in all her splendor, looking even more beautiful than he had last remembered. With a smile being exchanged between himself and Lunafreya, Noctis could not help but feel a sense of relief washing over him. Finally. It had finally come to this after so many years of waiting. And this time there was nothing that was stopping them both from closing the short distance between one another.

While the situation was not what he was expecting, he was nevertheless glad and thrilled that Luna was still alive and well.

"Luna!" he cried out as he rushed over to her.

"Noctis!" Lunafreya exclaimed back with equal joyfulness.

The pair embraced one another in a tight hug, elated that they were both finally reunited once more.

"I can't believe... this is real..." Lunafreya murmured softly into his ear, "You're really here..."

Noctis hummed.

"You just read my mind."

Pulling away from one another, they both took a moment to note the other's appearance.

"You've grown quite a tad bit since I last saw you," Lunafreya remarked.

Noctis chuckled back.

"And you've grown more beautiful."

"I must admit, this was not how I had imagined us seeing one another again after all this time."

"Really? You were expecting something more dramatic?"

"Akin to a near-death scenario, yes, taking into consideration the Hydraean's wrath and all."

"Um guys? I don't wanna ruin a happy moment and all but we still have an bigger issue to address," Serah called out from not too far away, her saddened look highlighting her reluctance to interrupt the overjoyed couple.

Noctis looked over to her with a serious look and nodded, and then faced Lunafreya again, noticing a curious look that was suddenly etched on her face. Seeing as her gaze was being directed at Serah and not him, he knew what this meant. Noctis cleared his throat as he started to introduce them both to each other.

"Serah, this is Lunafreya, the Oracle of Eos, and my childhood friend" he said to Serah, then turned to Lunafreya, "And that is Serah. Let's just say she's... not from around here."

"Oh?" Lunafreya asked and tilted her head in mild confusion, "Where does she hail from?"

As Serah started to approach them, Noctis shrugged with folded arms.

"Beats me. All that she would say was that there was danger coming from outer space."

"Sephiroth to be more precise," Serah piped in and she stopped near them, "A god-like being who attacks worlds across the universe and devours the souls of affected lifeforms."

Lunafreya hummed as she stroked her chin, "I see... So the Hydraean was right..."

Hearing about the Astral, Noctis turned to her, "What about her? What did Leviathan say to you?"

Lunafreya gave him a grievous look.

"The Astral warned me that "a being who seeks to bend entire civilizations to his will", is on his way here to Eos."

Serah nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"Sephiroth."

"It is because of this new threat that the Hydraean has agreed to set aside her past animosities towards humanity," Lunafreya spoke further, "In short, this means that she has willingly agreed to forge a covenant with you, Noctis."

Noctis was surprised by this, "Really? _That_ willingly?"

The nod he got from Lunafreya was enough to confirm his fears. If this Sephiroth guy was powerful enough by name to even frighten a hardened Astral like the Hydraean, then it must mean that Eos was in for a harsh time ahead.

Lunafreya outstretched her palm, and the glowing orb reappeared over it.

"The Mark of the Hydraean," she clarified for Noctis, who could faintly mark out the lines that made up Leviathan's symbol.

Noctis stared at it briefly for a few silent moments before he extended out a hand towards it, and the orb flew and disappeared right into his palm.

At first nothing happened, but then Noctis started to give off an unnatural glow as he merged with the Hydraean's power. Considering that he was grunting through the pain that came with it, the Mark was surely as powerful and strong as its owner.

Soon, the light faded from his body, indicating that he had fully forged his covenant.

With a shaky breath, he softly remarked, "I'll never get used to this..."

"No. But it helps that you'll only experience this once," Lunafreya pointed out with a helpful smile, but then her mouth gaped open a little, as though she was suddenly remembering one last thing.

"Oh yes! You are probably going to need this too," she said as she removed a small object from her pocket.

Noctis went silent for a few moments as he made eye contact with the familiar-looking circular object in the palm of her hand. He never thought that he would see it again, not after what happened to Insomnia.

"My Dad's ring..." he muttered softly.

Lunafreya nodded.

"He instructed me to bring it to you when I escaped. Just before he..."

She stopped short of completing that sentence, not wanting for Noctis to relieve that torment and grief again. After all, she had experienced it when she saw the King himself die before her eyes during her escape from the Citadel.

Noctis silently took the ring from her and stared hard at the minuscule object.

This... this was the succession of his forebearers that came before him (that now also included his father)... and now it was his turn to shoulder the burden. As much as he was tempted to just hurl it into the bay and let it stay there, he couldn't. As the True King, the duty falls on him to protect the world from all that encompasses darkness.

Just then, a buzzing sound came from Noctis' pocket – it sounded like a phone ringtone. Noctis fished out his smartphone, leaves the ring in its place inside, and glanced at the name on the screen.

It was Ignis.

He then looked to both Serah and Lunafreya and decided to answer it via loudspeaker.

"Ignis? What's up?" he asked and held out the phone between himself and the other two young women.

 _"Noct, I saw the Hydraean disappear from Arena Galviano!"_ Ignis exclaimed from the other end, _"I take it that you have done it?"_

There was some loud background noise, which meant that he was in the midst of a battle of sorts.

"Oh yeah, Iggy. I've made my covenant," Noctis replied back, "And Luna's with me, safe and sound."

As though she wanted to further confirm it, Lunafreya leaned forward and spoke clearly into the phone.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ignis Scientia, however far away you are at the moment."

 _"The feeling is mutual, Lady Lunafreya,"_ Ignis greeted back as courteously as he could, _"As much as I wish that Gladiolus, Prompto and myself could be there to greet you in-person, I'm afraid we are a bit... held up for the time being."_

"What's going on at your end?" Serah asked.

 _"I take it that would be Serah,"_ Ignis commented, _"Anyway, currently we are trying to aid some of the stragglers who have been trapped here in the Arena. Unfortunately however, there are MTs and troops here and they are blocking off all the entrances."_

Noctis scoffed in disgust, "Like that's surprising news."

 _"And it gets worse than that,"_ Ignis continued, _"The soldiers have set up a tight perimeter around whatever's left of this place, and they are arresting or shooting those who are attempting to flee. They profess that the perimeter is a safety area, although they are treating everyone here like prisoners and hostages."_

Both Noctis and Lunafreya felt sick to their stomachs upon hearing this.

Did the Empire want so much global recognition THIS badly?

In their minds, a temptation was urging them both to rush over and help out those who could not help themselves in this crisis.

"Obviously they must be doing this, so that they can write some story later that describes their "heroics" in trying to save civilians," Serah growled angrily.

Somehow, she thought that the oppressing forces on this world was far worse than PSICOM ever was.

 _"Oh by the way, did Iggy forget to mention that Ravus is leading the charge here?"_ Prompto suddenly jumped into the conversation from the other end.

The mentioning of her brother set off alarms in Lunafreya's head.

"Ravus?!" she questioned.

 _"Afraid so, Lady Lunafreya,"_ Ignis solemnly replied, _"Apparently your brother has been sent on orders to conduct a scorched-earth operation and – GLADIO, THEY'VE FOUND US!"_

 _"On it!"_ came the gruff voice of Gladiolus.

The next few minutes on the phone were filled with the sounds of grunts, blood spilling, blazing weapons, and swords being swung about.

Noctis with every moment, was growing quietly concerned about his friends. Were they alright? Were they doing well? He would never be able to live with himself if anything happened to them, and he not being there to help out like he normally would.

Finally, Ignis shouted on the phone again, _"I'm afraid we'll have to cut short our conversation! Ravus has touched down and he's in hot pursuit of us!"_

"Don't worry about it!" Noctis told him firmly, "Just get those people outta there! And for my sake, stay alive!"

 _"Tall order, Your Highness!"_ Gladiolus hollered from the background.

 _"Don't say that, Gladio!"_ Prompto yelled out, _"We'll be fine! Ain't nothin' that a bunch of tin men can't-"_

 _"Prompto! On your left!"_ Ignis cuts him off and said to Noctis, _"We'll meet up later, Noctis! Just keep yourself, Lady Lunafreya and Serah safe!"_

He hung up on his end, but not before Gladiolus screamed out at the top of his lungs.

 _"You broke our formation! Fucking Prompto!"_

With a sigh, Noctis slowly put away his phone. He shared a somewhat exhausted glance with Serah and Lunafreya.

"Well, that leaves us on our own."

Lunafreya nodded her head slowly, knowing full well how serious the situation was to keep vigilance.

"What should we do?"

Noctis took a moment to survey their surroundings. Currently, there were no soldiers that appeared to be nearby, and curiously the airships themselves were no longer hovering over the bay as compared to earlier.

 _"Maybe they've lost interest in Luna?"_ he wondered thoughtfully, and even questioning that was odd.

Without a shadow of a doubt, the Oracle was by far the Niflheim Empire's most precious resource.

While losing someone like Lunafreya may not affect them military-wise, it would be crippling to the Empire's reputation to have such an important figure slip through their fingers like that.

Yet he also reasoned that Lunafreya beared no significance to the Empire anyway. It was because of them that she only held her title like a figurehead. Like a puppet on strings. Lunafreya had always been limited in her rights and her powers thanks to Niffs. It would be relieving for her to finally have her strings be severed from the puppeteer.

But still he had to take everything with a pinch of salt. Whose to say that Ravus wouldn't be coming for his baby sister once he had mopped up the entire city of Altissia? As far as he knew, he and Ravus were not even on speaking terms; he had founded that out first-hand at the Aracheole Stronghold when he and his entourage were retrieving the Regalia.

If news broke out that Lunafreya had escaped the Empire's custody, Ravus would not rest until he retrieved her. He would exhaust every resource he had just to take back what was his.

Which was why Noctis now had to tread very carefully. Not only was there danger fast-approaching Eos from the heavens, but there was also the immediate, more grounded threat of the Empire.

One was world-conquering, while the other was world- _destroying_.

He was caught between a rock and a hard place.

Looking back to the two women, he devised a plan.

"As far as I can see, that appears to be no more soldiers heading our way," he surmised in deep thought, "So here's what we're gonna do. Depending on whether or not your brother has or has not sent out search parties, we're gonna get you out of Altissia, Luna."

Lunafreya thought about it for a moment, and then she asked, "Alright. But how do we do that?"

"We've got a yacht parked at the docks, if Leviathan hadn't sunk it already," Noctis explained, "Our man, Cid is currently taking care of it so that it doesn't pass up too much as a royal vehicle to the Niffs. All we need to do, is to sneak you all the way to the docks, and get Cid to take you back to Lucis."

Serah hummed thoughtfully.

"That's a good plan and all, but there's probably a good chance that we might encounter some soldier patrols along the way. We may not be able to protect Lady Lunafreya all the way throughout the entire time."

Lunafreya smiled warmly at her.

"I appreciate your concern for my well-being, Miss Serah, but I believe I can handle myself."

Noctis shook his head in the direction of his childhood friend. Stubborn as always. Just like when she was younger. Even now he was surprised at how much time had passed since their last meeting together. It almost felt like an entire lifetime ago.

He took out his phone again and began to dial in Cid's number.

But just then, he heard a strange sound as he was about to press the call button. It was faint, but there was no mistaking that growing rumble. He was glad that he was not the only one hearing it.

"That sound..." Lunafreya muttered, and her eyes shot upwards to the sky, "It's like thunder... except the clouds are not so dark..."

And the thundering only got louder.

Suddenly, the trio felt the wind beginning to pick up, and it was gaining swift momentum.

"Is it a Dreadnought?" Noctis wondered aloud.

He had hoped not. Otherwise he was going to have to fight for Lunafreya (and his own life) against the Empire. A fight that he was willing to fight as long as it guarantees Lunafreya's freedom.

His fears were dashed to his relief however, when Lunafreya shook her head at his question.

"If it were, then it wouldn't look so... rock-like..."

Raising his eyebrows at this, Noctis glanced at his friend, whose eyes were suddenly wide and staring at a general direction of the sky. He followed her action, and he was immediately awe-stricken by what he was seeing.

Hovering high above them and the city of Altissia, was no airship at all.

It was an _asteroid_! An asteroid that was about the size of the tallest mountain; big enough to partially block out the setting sun. It glowed with a light-greenish aura, and it was protected by light-greenish tendrils that branched out across the entire surface.

As it continued its slow descent from the clouds, Serah slowly felt dread crawling up her skin.

She had failed.

He was here.

Noctis looked to her, unbeknownst of her expression and asked, "I suppose this is the danger?"

He got no response in return, as Serah continued to remain speechless and seemingly distressed.

Just then, one lone tendril branched out from beneath the asteroid and stretched downwards until it connected with the altar where Lunafreya was standing at earlier.

As the trio watched on in tense silence, a figure emerged from the tendril which had morphed into a beam of green energy.

Serah's expression lifted a little, once she realised who the person was.

"So that's Sephiroth?" Noctis asked her softly as the figure slowly walked forth, his expression filled with a bit of confusion, "He's looks... younger than I thought."

Serah shook her head.

"No. It's not him. One of his three Sons."

Hearing the tone in her voice that seemed as though she was "happy" about this, Noctis felt a little bit uneasy.

After exchanging a glance with Lunafreya, Noctis commented back.

"Now why does that make me feel any less better?"

Serah gave him a plain shrug, and then she started to walk forwards towards the person before Noctis could even stop her. Noctis shook his head with a sigh and then summoned Engine Blade II.

He turned to Lunafreya nodded his head.

"I think you'd better sit this one out, Luna. If this guy's a child of Sephiroth, then he packs more than just a punch."

He was half-surprised to see her shaking his head.

"I may not be of any assistance to you when it comes to strength," Lunafreya told him firmly, "But as it happens, I am good with magic."

Noctis appeared to be doubting her on that statement, a reaction that she had been expecting, but she would not leave it at that.

"Please Noctis!" she implored, "I don't wish to be just another helpless damsel in distress! As the Oracle, I safeguard the innocent from darkness, and I intend to do the same here!"

Without even waiting for a response, she started marching off after Serah before Noctis could even stop her as well.

"No wait! Luna! You can't..." he attempted to plead with her, to no avail.

Halting in his pacing for a brief moment, he let out a sigh of exasperation.

"Man oh man, I'm starting to lose control of my life..." Noctis muttered out before proceeding to resume racing onward to catch up with both women.

Meanwhile up ahead, Serah's eyes narrowed down at the foe on the other end.

She was right when she said that it was not Sephiroth. It was just the jerk that just preached what he delivered for his Father and who caressed her cheek like she was some sort of plaything.

In a sense, she did not like Kadaj same as she did not like Sephiroth.

The Father dealt pain physically, while the Son tormented with verbs and prolonged sentences.

Like Father, like Son.

Serah could not wait to slice the jerk in half, and in an ironic twist, she was also glad that Sephiroth had sent Kadaj ahead of him. After all, he took away from her someone she loved, and now it seemed fitting that it was her turn to do the same. And she vowed to make Kadaj's end as merciless as she possibly could. If Sephiroth was even watching it from wherever he was, it would make her vengeance so much sweeter.

Thankfully, compared to her last encounter, this time she was not alone.

With Noctis and Lunafreya at her side, they looked to be more than a match for Kadaj. While added support from Ignis, Gladiolus and Prompto would have been nice, Serah would take what she could get in this situation.

As the trio continued to close the gap with Sephiroth's Son, the latter let out an arrogant smirk as he made eye contact with Serah.

He was obviously pleased that she had done as she was unwillingly tasked to do. And now he was just there to do the easy work and pick up a souvenir or two.

"My, my..." Kadaj proclaimed with a tone of slight amusement, "For an outsider, you seem to get along well with strangers, Miss Farron."

Serah huffed back.

"I'm an open person. You should try it sometime."

"I believe I am comfortable where I am, but thank you for your suggestion anyhow," Kadaj replied with mock sincerity.

He shifted his gaze over to both Noctis and Lunafreya and smiled even wider.

"I am to assume that you both are inhabitants of this planet?" he questioned them.

Noctis glared at him and took a step forward.

"Damn right we are."

Kadaj grinned widely.

"Then you should know why I am here."

He gestured with an arm towards Serah.

Lunafreya narrowed her eyes.

"And you should know what we must do! As the Oracle of Eos, I hereby deem you as trespassing on our world!"

At her proclamation, both Noctis and Serah got into their attack stances, ready to do battle with the man.

"And that means you'd better start packing and get the hell outta here!" Noctis added with strong fervour.

Kadaj was unfazed by his threat for he smiled ever so wider. Slowly, he raised up an arm up into the air... and then he snapped his fingers.

Out of nowhere, a plume of dark energy formed behind him, and then shadowy monsters began emerging from it and gallivanted on all fours like a pack of wolves straight towards the trio.

"Here comes the cavalry," Serah commented grimly.

Noctis shrugged.

"Eh, just a bunch of monsters. What's the worst they could do to us?"

With all that he had, Noctis tossed his sword right at the closest monster.

He warped forth and with Engine Blade II in his hands, he sliced the monster down in half. He dodged out of the way when another one made a pounce at him. Recovering quickly, Noctis slashed at its exposed back.

Not too far behind, Serah was racing forward with her borrowed sword being clutched tightly in her hands.

As one of the monster started to charge right at her upon seeing her, she muttered out a silent prayer, "Be with me, Claire. Now and forever."

She let out a battle cry and raised her sword high, and when she was close enough to the monster she brought it down just as the beast itself swiped a clawed hand her way.

Blade met claw, and that brought about a couple of flying sparks.

Serah duelled feverishly against the monster, neither one barely being able to get the upper hand over the other.

With a chanced glance overhead to where Noctis was taking out throngs of oncoming wild monsters with almost relative ease, she could only think in her mind, _"I'm gonna need more training..."_

With the outstretch of her palm, she casted down Thundara on her opposing monster. With a loud shriek, the monster leapt backwards to avoid the bolts that rained down from the heavens. Her given breathing room was only a temporary respite however, for the monster went on the attack again.

But unknown to both Serah and Noctis, there were multiple other monsters that had managed to slip by the both of them and they were heading right at Lunafreya.

However, the Oracle showed no fear in the face of so many adversaries. In fact, her eyes were blazing with bold courage and determination.

The pack of monsters when they were close enough, pounced high into the air and opened up their jaws to reveal their baring fangs. More or less they were threatening to make her their evening snack.

Acting on instinct, Lunafreya held out a hand and just like that, the monsters were sent flying away by a powerful Aeroga spell.

The monster that Serah was fighting against was also being blown backwards by the powerful winds. So too were those that Noctis was busy tackling with, but he was more than happy for the sudden change in wind direction. He turned back to watch with admiration as Lunafreya directed the winds to send the monsters right back where they came from.

While the monsters flew helplessly back into the dark portal behind Kadaj, the young man himself appeared to be unaffected by the powerful wind. He was still standing where he was, acting as though there was nothing that was blowing hard against his body.

And with one final push, Lunafreya concentrated all her focus on making the portal disappear, which it did after a few more seconds of resistance. Her spell finally died down, and Lunafreya who was exhausted by all the energy she had spent, lowered her arm slowly.

For a moment there was pure silence, with the sound being the waters of the bay underneath them, splashing against one another in huge waves, affected by the powerful winds from earlier. And then unexpectedly, Kadaj began to slowly clap his hands, with a huge grin on his face.

Noctis glared at him as he did so, and he began advancing towards him.

"Why're you applauding for, hotshot?" he questioned angrily, "Some cheap entertainment at our expense?"

Kadaj chuckled evilly.

"Au contraire... the show is just beginning! Thanks to you, I have a detailed preview to give back to Father. And when he arrives... I promise you that it will be a show... to **die** for! Until then however..."

All of a sudden, Noctis suddenly froze in his tracks, and he was surprised that by some unseen force, he could not even budge a muscle further.

Seeing this happen, Serah cried out, "Noctis!"

She started racing towards him, oblivious to Lunafreya shouting out from behind, "Serah, no! Wait!"

Kadaj watched the pink-hair with slight amusement, but with his fingers he made a flicking motion.

Serah suddenly founded herself being flung away out over the waters of the bay by an invisible force, and she was screaming all the way until she splashed into the water. Lunafreya was looking on with horror on her face as the pink-hair disappeared beneath the waves.

Noctis however was not able to see what had happened to Serah, but he had a rough idea by the way he heard her splashing into the water.

There was a swell of rage rising up within his soul.

Although he had not known Serah for that long, throughout those hours that he had spent with her, Serah acted more like a friend instead of a complete stranger. Right off the bat, Serah did not converse with them like any normal person at all. In fact, she just started treated him and his friends like she had known them all her life.

And that was what surprised Noctis the most.

With a character like Serah's, she must have had a lot of friends where she came from. But with one more look at the man who Serah seemed to know well, and he was reminded of her earlier statement.

Before Eos, Sephiroth must have destroyed her world and absorbed her people – she must have been the only survivor. And for good reason. No doubt that if her world was not technologically advanced enough for space travel, then Sephiroth would have been happy enough to send her on her way.

As Kadaj continued walking calmly towards him, Noctis made a silent vow in his head.

 _"Whoever this Sephiroth guy is... he's gonna pay for the trillions of lives he's taken..."_

And he would be damned if he didn't get the chance to even do so. After all, everything comes to an end, and somewhere down the line, Sephiroth's purges also had to follow that principle.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Kadaj who had stopped near him and was now caressing his cheek. Against his will, Noctis was having his face examined by the man who was forcefully tilting his head from side to side, like he was some sort of slave.

Kadaj hummed with gleeful satisfaction.

"I sense a great power coming from within your life essence... Noctis Lucis Caelum..."

He smiled at the widened eyes of his victim.

"Yes... I know you... I am the Son of a God, after all..." he intoned with a sickening chuckle that sent shivers down Noctis' spine, "And of course, your Oracle friend appears to possess great power as well."

Kadaj then peered over the Prince's shoulder ahead to Lunafreya who was shooting her best death glare his way. Suffice to say he was much more amused than intimidated by this gesture.

He returned his attention to Noctis.

"I could take her along with you back to Father as specimens. But alas! Doing that would deprive this world of its two most powerful defenders, now wouldn't it? So I'm afraid you will have to do, Your Highness."

Before Noctis could even respond, Kadaj snapped his fingers in front of him. Just like that, his entire world went black.

Kadaj motioned with his hand, and Noctis' limp body began floating up from the ground. Turning on his heel, he began walking back towards the green beam, his newly captured specimen floating close behind.

Seeing this happen, Lunafreya started to take steps towards Kadaj and her captured friend. Considering that she was wearing high heels, she might have considered removing them and start running, if it weren't for Serah's screams coming from the bay. Halting in her stride, Lunafreya turned her attention sharply towards the waters.

It took her a couple of times to scan the bay for any signs of the pink-hair, but then she finally spotted her. She was at about the middle distance between the altar and the furthest port, waving her hands about in Lunafreya's direction. From afar, her screamed words were barely audible, but at the back of her mind Lunafreya had a clear cut idea what she was trying to commute to her.

It was at this moment however that Lunafreya dreaded the most: she had to make a choice. Either proceed on ahead to rescue her childhood friend from the clutches of Sephiroth's servant, or sacrifice him to rescue Serah instead. In the mind of the Oracle, she realised that she had no time rescue the both of them, and trying to challenge fate would almost be certainly an act of brash foolishness. But that wouldn't mean that she would be bound to following logic, and yet she had to act quickly. Concentrating hard, Lunafreya prepared to manifest an ice bridge for Serah.

But then from out of nowhere, there was the roaring sound of a speedboat entering the bay.

Lunafreya squinted her eyes hard to identify the vehicle's occupants, and while she could not recognise them by overall appearance, she could familiarise with their faces. And she smiled with relief as she witnessed two of Noctis' friends jumping right in at the last minute to save Serah; Ignis was at the helm while Prompto was helping Serah up onboard.

But that was when she quickly noticed that the third man was missing, his presence was missing upon the speedboat compared to the other two.

"Lady Luna! You alright?!" came the familiar gruff voice of Gladiolus.

Lunafreya turned around to greet the hulking brute of a man that arrived at a running pace.

Greeting him with a nod, Lunafreya replied, "I was not harmed. And Serah is being rescued by Ignis and Prompto. Now all that's left to help is..."

Her sentence trailed off and her eyes widened with terror, as she suddenly remembered who that last person was. She turned her attention back to the altar, where Kadaj had set foot into the green column of light.

A second later, he was beamed up, all the way until he disappeared into the asteroid. Noctis' body followed shortly after, which shocked an alarmed Gladiolus.

"No! NOCT!" he cried out in terror and he rushed forward towards the altar.

He barely even made it halfway however, when the beam dissipated. And then the rumbling sound of thunder began to start again. Lunafreya looked on with dread as the asteroid started to slowly levitate up into the sky.

At the same time, from where she stood on the speedboat, Serah was watching everything unfold.

"He's leaving with Noctis!" she cried out, as the asteroid continued its slow ascent upwards.

"What?!" Ignis crowed out with shock from his seat and shifted his focus to the asteroid.

"... Say that again?" Prompto asked albeit terrified.

"Remember what I said about Sephiroth?" Serah said to the two men, "He sent one of his Sons ahead of him; he must be bringing Noctis back to Sephiroth for questioning or something!"

"Blast..." Ignis growled with a shake of his head, "Why does he always get tangled up in-"

"We have to save Noct! Now!" Prompto exclaimed wildly over the roaring engines.

"But how?!" Ignis snapped back, "If you have any ideas concerning getting onto that asteroid that's taking off into space, then please! I'd love to hear it!"

Serah tapped on her temple hard, and she tried to come up with a couple of ideas. Their window of opportunity for rescuing Noctis was closing fast. _REALLY_ fast.

If nothing was done now, then they all may well have condemned their friend to his gruesome fate at the hands of Sephiroth. Not to mention Serah would have let loose her chance to get back at Sephiroth for the deaths of her friends and sister.

But just as she was about to be drained of thoughts, her eyes rested on a circular-shaped sphere that was strapped to Prompto's belt.

From the looks of its design, it had the rough appearance of a bomb. She also took note of yellowish glow emanating from the X-shaped insignia on the sphere, possibly whatever energy that was being housed inside.

"Prompto! What is this?" she asked him.

Prompto glanced at her and then at her index finger that was being pointed at the sphere on his belt.

"It's a Magic Flask," he explained briefly, "Not that it looks like much, but it's essentially a holder for magic spells. This one's for Firaga."

That was all she needed to hear.

She stared down at the Flask, and then to the asteroid. Her eyes then gazed down at the water.

A crazy idea popped into her head.

"Prompto, now's not the time to-" Ignis cut into their conversation, but then Serah exclaimed out loud, "NEED TO BORROW THIS!"

Prompto cried out in surprise as he felt a strong tug at his belt. Because of the way the speedboat was rocking amongst the choppy waters, he lost his footing for a second. When he recovered, he heard a loud "splash!" in the water. Alarmed, both he and Ignis turned around to see that Serah was swimming out on her own towards the ascending asteroid.

"SERAH!" they both cried out in unison.

Serah swam as swiftly as she could and her eyes kept track of the asteroid. Currently, the huge chunk of space rock was starting to disappear through the clouds, but its base was still relatively close to the ground.

If she could get it at the right angle...

She halted somewhere close to where the altar was, and she quickly held out the Magic Flask in her hand. If her calculations were right, then this thing would probably act like a normal grenade bomb. It would need a rough surface to activate against before exploding.

Acting quickly, Serah punched the Flask hard, and its surface cracked a little which allowed a bit of flames to billow out. The sphere suddenly became so hot, that Serah released her grip over it with a squeak and it dropped into the water.

As she watched the Flask sink into the dark depths, she prayed softly in her mind, "Please let this work..."

She waited preparedly for a couple of seconds, just for the right moment when the spell was released.

And then... nothing happened.

Serah looked down and saw that the Flask had disappeared from view. She sighed in defeat, knowing full well that her plan had not worked.

But just as she was contemplating returning to the nearest dock, the water exploded upwards all around her. With a terrified shriek, Serah founded herself being launched high up into the air by the resulting Firaga in the water.

At that moment, Serah watched her entire life flash before her eyes.

From the altar, Lunafreya and Gladiolus watched with shock as the pink-hair launched herself into the air, all the way towards the asteroid.

"Serah!" Lunafreya cried out in full terror.

Gladiolus on the other hand was half-gasping and half-chuckling.

 _"I like this girl a lot, however rash she appears to be,"_ he thought to himself

Serah flailed her arms out in the air, desperate to cling on to anything, everything, just to save her own skin. And then she founded it, a rocky ledge that she barely managed to hang onto. Serah took a few breaths to compose herself before hauling herself up onto the ledge. And when she looked down again, her eyes widened at the fact that she was so far up from where the ground was – the bottom was moving farther away.

Realisation hit her like a ton of bricks and she turned her head up to view the rest of the rocky body.

 _"I'm on the asteroid..."_ she thought to herself in awestricken amazement.

Her plan had worked!

Crazy and stupid, but it worked!

And yet as she was taken further upwards into the sky, she could not help but feel a pang of guilt of the number of good people that she was abruptly leaving behind. Truth be told, she had not known them all that well for all the hours she had been on this world, and yet she still communicated with them as though she had been a normal inhabitant of this world. Which was quite surprising, even for her although she was an open type of person. But somewhere deep down inside of her, she was confident and hopeful that while she was off trying to save Noctis, his friends would be able to prepare the world still for when the true danger finally arrived.

After all, with Noctis gone for a while, his friends were going to need all the help that they could get.

With that in mind, Serah got on her feet and started to explore the surface, hoping that she could find a way into the asteroid before it leaves the atmosphere.

Back on the surface, Lunafreya and Gladiolus watched as the asteroid finally disappeared into the clouds as Ignis and Prompto finally regrouped with them.

"You guys alright?" Gladiolus asked his friends.

Ignis adjusted his spectacles.

"A little worse for wear... but all in all I'm alright."

"I'm good," Prompto replied back with a nonchalant thumbs-up.

"We were on our way here to rendezvous, but then Serah informed us that Noctis has been taken captive," Ignis reported seriously, "Is it true?"

Lunafreya nodded solemnly, a mixture of guilt and confliction was etched upon her face.

"Yes. Regrettably I was forced to choose between rescuing either Noctis or Serah. It was all too sudden."

"Also, Serah jumped out of the boat with one of my Flasks and used it to shoot herself up onto the asteroid!" Prompto chimed in, "It was terrifying to watch but... how _cool_ was that?!"

Gladiolus grinned slightly at this.

"I'll admit that stunt she pulled was too stupid and careless, but credit's gotta be given where it's due. That girl's got a style to her methods."

"Even so, I still feel that it was a reckless decision," Lunafreya muttered with a shake of her head, "She has gone aboard that thing to rescue Noctis..."

She stared up into the sky where the asteroid had just been, and she sighed.

"... but who will protect _her_?"

All at once the three men became worried by this sudden realisation.

Noctis' captor was not Sephiroth himself. More rather, it was one of his Sons. But if the father was as powerful as Serah claimed him to be, whose to say the son was not powerful as well?

After a moment of silence, Ignis declared, "Obviously we need to board that asteroid and help Serah rescue Noctis."

"But how do you suppose we do that?" Prompto asked him worriedly, "That space rock's probably halfway up the atmosphere by now. We would need a miracle to catch up with it."

 _"Did somebody say "miracle"?"_

The three men's eyes widened upon recognising that female voice.

All of a sudden, a Magitek engine appeared out of nowhere amongst the billowing smokes of the city. To Lunafreya, it was just another Niflheim airship. But to Ignis, Gladiolus and Prompto?

The red colour scheme on this engine was what made them recognise who it belonged to.

The Magitek engine hovered closer towards the altar, and then the front ramp lowered down, allowing the four to came acknowledge a woman who was cladded in black armor.

"Aranea Highwind?" Ignis questioned out of confusion, "What are you doing here?"

"What I'M doing here?" Aranea rhetorically questioned back with an amused smirk, "Why, to help you guys save your friend's princely – I mean, _kingly_ ass!"

"And do you expect me to accept your sudden generosity?" Lunafreya stepped forwards with an doubtful tone, "You are part of Emperor Aldercapt's Imperial High Command!"

"With all due respect, Lady Lunafreya, I'm not here to play politics!" Aranea replied back, "I'm not here officially, I saw what happened over the television and decided to lend you a hand!"

Lunafreya narrowed her eyes at her.

"Prove it to me then, Commodore!"

Both females locked glaring eyes at one another for a brief moment, before Aranea let out an exasperated sigh.

"You do realise that His Highness is getting ever so further away from Eos the more time we waste..." she stated, "Fine! If you don't wish to take my word for it, then you can take **his** word."

Aranea took a step to the aside, allowing for another familiar figure to brisk forwards towards the four.

"Cor?!" Gladiolus exclaimed out in surprise.

"Heard everything that happened over the radio in Cape Caem. And since I had no transportation of my own to get here as fast as possible, I decided to phone in Highwind on a favor she owes me," the Marshal explained then nodded his greetings to the Oracle.

Gesturing with his arm to usher them aboard, he yelled out, "GET IN!"

The four quickly hopped in and Aranea signalled for the airship to take off into the sky.

* * *

Ravus stared with cold eyes at the red-painted Magitek engine from his Dreadnought as it flew up into the clouds.

With hands clenched tightly at his sides, he thought over the events that had been playing out throughout the day. And he had to admit it was quite an interesting day indeed.

First, the Hydraean emerges and then disappears a few minutes later, and then there was a freaking asteroid that suddenly appeared in the sky, and then his sister had managed to escape the Empire, and now one of their top commanders had apparently defected.

It was a certainly a bad time for Niflheim, and no doubt it was going to get even worse before night settled in.

As of this moment, it was highly likely that Emperor Aldercapt would be beyond displeased and most definitely be furious by how things were not going according to plan.

If it were different circumstances, Ravus would probably be quite happy on the inside about how things were now turning out. In recent days following up to the Leviathan ceremony, he was starting to have a change in thought about his allegiance to the Empire, especially after having a heart-to-heart talk with Lunafreya, who was by now visibly weaker than she was before she started approaching the Astrals. With that in mind he could almost rejoice that she had escaped the Empire as easily as she did.

He could still picture the look on her face, how much her fair skin had grown pale from the lack of energy that she had used up in communing with the gods, how her voice had grown exhausted and strained, how much her body had been pushed to the brink of collapse.

And while he still could put all the blame onto Noctis for making her do something that was life-threatening, Ravus knew that he could not use that card for too long. After all, it was his sister who had affirmed that it was her choice, and her choice alone. No other being on Eos could ever take control of what she thinks, believes or chooses. And it was because of this determination that Ravus had been touched so deeply.

Compared to before when he would not hesitate to carry out the orders of a tyrannical emperor just to obtain even more power and a higher status, he was now starting to become even more reluctant. This was especially so even during his mission at Arena Galviano, when he for the first time took notice of the innocent that were suffering under the iron fists of the Empire, and when he had a bit of admiration for Noctis' entourage as they fought for their lives trying to help the people escape. Hence his willingness to subtly allow the trio to escape with those held hostage, to wipe clean the red from his ledger.

Coming back to the present, Ravus now thought over what he should do next.

Should he choose pursue and recapture his sister? Or should he continue with the scorched-earth order that was issued beforehand? Either way, he was still the High Commander and his hands were wound up tight.

Just then, one of his lieutenants approached him and said, "Sir?"

With an exasperated sigh that his thoughts had been interrupted, he adopted his High Commander character again and muttered out, "What is it?"

"I-It's the Emperor," the lieutenant reported, "He is summoning all of the High Command back to Gralea. Effective immediately."

Ravus spun on him, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"What for?!" he snapped, although a bit more dramatically than he had expected.

The lieutenant, now suddenly afraid of him fought the urge to take a few steps back. In his mind Ravus was laughing at this reaction.

"A-A situation conference, my liege... A-About the events that have taken place here in Altissia..."

Ravus trained hardened eyes at him in silence for a few moments.

"I wish to speak with the Chancellor at once."

"He has already left for Gralea, s-sir..." came the hesitant response, "Apparently, he took off when the H-Hydraean monster suddenly disappeared. Said something a-about "absolute disappointment"."

Humming in acknowledgment of this piece of news, Ravus turned back towards the open window.

"Ardyn..." he murmured under his breath.

Of course that cowardly bastard had to leave him to pick up the pieces. Why should he even be surprised by this? The Chancellor always had his ways of making an entrance or taking his leave, and quite frankly he was getting tired of it.

 _"I'd rather take my chances with Loqi instead..."_ he thought to himself with a shake of his head.

He stood there for a couple more seconds, and then he ordered his lieutenant sharply, "Call back all of our remaining forces at once! We shall depart this place immediately!"

"Y-Yes sir..." the lieutenant replied and quickly brisked out of the main deck.

* * *

As everyone excluding Aranea strapped into their seats in the main deck, the latter told them curtly, "Alright fellas, don't expect this to be a smooth ride. Currently the asteroid's about 1.5 miles up from ground level and counting, but its continuously gaining speed every second. Even at top speed we can only meet up with its rocky ass before it hits 48 miles."

"Which leads us to our time limit," Cor briefs the four, "Niflheim's Magitek engines can survive no higher than 52 miles, and that threshold is where the breathable atmosphere ends."

"That leaves us with little time," Ignis deduced with a frown on his face.

"And little room for air," Gladiolus piped in with a shake of his head.

"Perhaps I could form a protective barrier around this ship?" Lunafreya suggested, earning the attention of everyone else, "That way it could prevent any breathable air from escaping when it is time to board."

Cor stroked his chin and hummed thoughtfully.

"That might work..."

He then turned to her.

"But that would mean that you have to remain here."

Lunafreya nodded her head solemnly, and then smiled at Noctis' entourage trio. If she could not be there for him, she could always count on his friends to help. After all, they had been with him thick and thin throughout this whole dilemma thus far.

Aranea nodded her head in agreement.

"Then it's settled. Better get your asses prepared! We're opening up the throttle all the way!"

She marched off towards the cockpit and then a second later, the airship shot off at top speed towards the ascending asteroid in a vertical climb across the atmosphere.

The travel was a gruelling experience, and Aranea was not kidding when she said that the ride was not going to be smooth.

It was the exact opposite.

Because of the way the airship was shooting upwards at a ridiculous speed, there was constant turbulence that rocked the main deck. The waiting did not ease the tension either, as everyone was silently awaiting Aranea's all-clear to launch.

"You think we can make it on that thing?" Gladiolus grumbled to Ignis.

"We'll have to time it just right," Ignis stated plainly, "Else we'd all be just plummeting to our deaths."

"Great. One wrong step, and it's bye-bye cruel world," Prompto muttered despondently to himself.

"Don't get your nickers in a bunch just yet, gentlemen," Cor told them sternly with hardened eyes, "Or must we rehash the fact that His Highness is counting on us to save him? In times like this, I'd say he would've done the same for us."

Before more words could be exchanged, Aranea's voice hollered over the airship's radio, _"Hold on to your butts, boys! We're about to make an emergency docking!"_

Cor nodded to the three men, which cued them to unstrap their seatbelts.

"By the way, Marshal," Gladiolus said to Cor, "You mentioned something about Aranea owing you a favor, right? How do you even know of her anyway? Aside from the fact that she is part of the Empire's High Command?"

"Had a brush with her troops a couple years ago on the outskirts of Leide," Cor explained briefly, "I was there trying to discern the location of the Adamantoise. Hardly surprised that she was there for the same reason. But then offering to work with me to find it? Now that's another story. Anyway, although we ultimately didn't managed to find the monster, we did come across a herd of Dualhorns. Saved the Commodore's ass just before she was about to get trampled underneath their hooves."

"The Adamantoise?" Ignis spoke up, his curiosity piqued, "That beast is virtually unkillable. Why would the Empire have interest in such a legendary creature at the time?"

Cor shrugged.

"No clue. But I had reason to suspect that they were attempting to extract a rare metal from the monster's shell. Rumoured to be the strongest metal on Eos. Extremely valuable. "

" _Valuable_... hmm?" Prompto chipped in once he heard that magic word, and Gladiolus could almost imagine the gil sign popping up on his eyes.

No doubt the blonde was an expert sharpshooter and a lover of photography, but with that character of his, it was almost easy to deduce his absolute lure to the smell of riches.

Just then, the airship rocked sharply, causing all of its occupants to stumble slightly.

Turning around in the direction of the cockpit, Cor shouted, "Commodore?!"

 _"Sorry 'bout that! Just kissed that space rock's side a bit too hard_!"

Ignis narrowed his eyes.

"We're here."

 _"Prepare to disembark! But word of caution: you've got a two-minute window before we hit the 52-mile mark and... wait, who's that?!"_

"What's going on out there?!" Lunafreya demanded hastily.

 _"I-I don't know... looks like a person... a_ girl! _There's a freakin' girl trekking at the side of this thing!"_

"Serah..." Gladiolus muttered out with a nod.

"Bring us around to the girl, Commodore!" Ignis ordered hurriedly, "She's one of our own!"

Up ahead at the cockpit with her men Biggs and Wedge, Aranea replied back, "Don't have to tell me twice, Four Eyes!"

She signaled Biggs who began pulling hard on the steering levers. The Magitek engine angled in such a way that the front was facing right in front of Serah, who waving her arms at it.

Just as she was about to lower the front ramp, the buzzing alarm went off.

Aranea knew what it meant.

"Heads up back there! We're breaking through the outer atmosphere now!" she shouted into the radio, which blared her voice back to the main deck.

Cor looked to Lunafreya and shouted, "Do your thing, milady!"

With a curt nod, Lunafreya outstretched a hand and concentrated hard.

On the inside, it seemed nothing was happening, but on the outside, a protective shield made of reinforced glass suddenly appeared around the airship. The only people to see this were Serah and Aranea.

The latter acknowledged this through the radio, _"Great! Shield's up and holding!"_

"Be quick though!" Lunafreya said, "I'm not sure how long I can hold it like this!"

Nodding his head, Cor shouted back to Aranea, "Open up the damn doors, Commodore!"

With seconds, the ramp started to lower down, and Ignis being closest to it, started to slowly inch his started close to the opening. He was cautious, even though the air was not escaping the airship thanks to Lunafreya's shield, especially since he was never one to take risky chances. And up ahead, he could make out Serah who was waving out to him.

"Serah!" he cried out.

"What're you guys doing?!" Serah yelled out her question.

"We thought you could use some help!" Gladiolus hollered in a joking tone from behind him, a grin forming on his lips, "Can't leave saving Noct to just yourself, now can we?"

Serah shrugged.

"The more the merrier! Now please hurry, 'cause it's getting really hard to breathe out here..."

All of a sudden, she collapsed down onto one knee, panting extremely hard to get fresh air. The others became alerted by this.

"Serah!" Ignis cried out worriedly then turned to his friends, "Alright lads! One at a time now!"

"I'll go first!" Prompto volunteered and he started moving forwards.

Ignis was carefully guiding his advance as he reached the very edge of the ramp.

"Serah! We're going to need your help!" Ignis shouted to the pink-hair who was barely able to stand.

She slowly lifted up her head to see Prompto close to her, and then she curtly nodded her head. With whatever energy she had left, she forced herself onto her feet and ambled forth towards Prompto.

"Take my hand!" she cried out, "Hurry!"

With a nod, Prompto started to extend out a hand towards her, penetrating the shield. He winced at the sudden coldness that bit at his fingers.

Inside the main chamber of the asteroid, Kadaj was smiling with satisfaction as he willed the Lifestream to conjure up metal chains and shackles to hold his new captive in the air at the centre of the room.

From different points of opposing walls, the shackles wrapped around Noctis' ankles and wrists and then they clamped down on his limbs all at once.

Just then however, his smile faded and he looked all around him.

He was sensing something.

There was movement just outside of the asteroid.

With a wave of his hand, he conjured up a portal mirror on one of the walls. Through it he could see what was happening on the other side of it.

There was an airship, and the girl who was apparently on a ledge.

He narrowed his eyes further at the mortals that she was trying to help board his transport.

"Mortals are always persistent..." he grumbled in irritation, "... I hate persistence..."

Lifting up a hand towards the green aura swirling above, he shot a Firaga spell into the mist.

"Just a little further..." Prompto muttered, as his hand inched closer to Serah's.

But unfortunately, the pink-hair was starting to give out even more. She clearly was not going to last longer as they got closer to the vacuum of space.

"Hang in there, Serah!" Ignis coached her encouragingly, "Just a bit more!"

But inwardly, he knew that by this point, any hope for him, Gladiolus and Prompto boarding the asteroid together was quickly being dashed, especially with Serah in her current state.

Pretty soon, she was going to suffocate from the lack of oxygen being supplied to her lungs.

Just as he decided to have Prompto pull Serah into the Magitek engine however, the asteroid suddenly began to give off a yellowish glow. As everyone watched, there were flames crawling over the surface of the space rock from every direction... and they were converging on their position.

Realising that the asteroid was attacking, Aranea screamed out both into the radio and her men, "BREAK OFF! NOW!"

Prompto and Serah retracted their hands, just as the fires exploded outwards at the ship. Serah cried out and ducked for cover, unknowing that the fires were surrounding her at the ledge, trapping her with no way of escaping.

The flames hit the shield with such force, that it started to crack.

The pain was filtered through Lunafreya's hand, and she cried out with agony.

The airship was rocked backwards, and because Prompto was at the edge of the ramp, he lost his footing and fell out over the side.

"No! PROMPTO!" Ignis exclaimed in terror and ran over to the edge alongside Gladiolus.

They both looked on helplessly as their friend tumbled down like a stone, screaming as he went. Prompto's eyes went wide when he saw how far he was from the surface. But if he was lucky, the air friction would kill him first before he hit the ground. Just as he was about to resign to his fate however, he suddenly felt a hand grab onto his arm, and he stopped falling.

Crying out in surprise, he looked back up to see that Serah was hanging onto him at the edge of the rocky cliff, gritting her teeth as she struggled to hold onto him.

"You okay, Prompto?!" she cried out worriedly.

Prompto whimpered a little.

"Still think we're pretty doomed..."

Serah shrugged a little.

"... I'll take that as a yes!"

With all that she had, Serah hauled Prompto onto the cliff that she was on, and the blonde was also doing his part to pull himself onto the asteroid.

Once he was on the cliff, he skittered away from the edge and murmured, "Don't wanna do that again, ever..."

"Feeling's mutual," Serah sympathised with him as she stared down below him.

The airship had just managed to recover, but it was clearly far too late for the others to come in for a second run.

"Oh man... air's getting empty up here..." Prompto wheezed with a large gasp.

Serah raced over to him and helped him up to a sitting position.

"I don't think the others will get another chance to get here," she muttered with a disappointed sigh, "We're on our own now."

Prompto nodded slowly with grim understanding.

"Yeah... we're pretty much almost in outer space now... So cold..."

Serah couldn't agree more with him. Now that they were reaching the vacuum of space, the temperature had plummeted drastically. All around her body, tiny crystals of ice were starting to form on her skin.

If they couldn't find a way into the asteroid soon, both of them would either suffocate to death, or risk getting turned into literal ice statues. With every second that passed, both of them felt much more weakened without the atmosphere.

"But we have to get inside this thing... somehow..." she implored hastily, and her desperate eyes began scanning the rock, possibly for any traces of a hidden door or something.

"Simple. We make our own entrance," Prompto responded and removed another sphere from his belt.

As Serah took a look at it, she realised that it was no Magic Flask.

This time it was an actual grenade bomb!

Acting quickly, Prompto pulled out the pin and lobbed it at the rock wall.

"Step back and cover your ears!" he instructed Serah, who did as he told. Seconds later, and the wall was blasted open.

When the smoke cleared, all that was left behind was a large gaping hole, with darkness laying beyond it.

"That oughta... do it," Prompto muttered with a slight shiver.

But just then, the newly formed entrance started to glow, and as they watched, the wall started to repair itself.

Alarmed by this, Serah cried out to Prompto, "Quick!"

She ducked into the entrance first, and Prompto followed suit, just before the entrance resealed itself, leaving them both in pitch darkness.

Back at the chamber, Kadaj who was too overjoyed by his success to be aware of what had happened, outstretched his hand forward at the window projection at the front of the asteroid formed by the Lifestream. His palm glowed green, signalling his connection to the entirety of the asteroid, and he gave a mental command to the Lifestream.

As everyone aboard Aranea's Magitek engine looked on, the asteroid shot off like a high-speed bullet away into the vast reaches of space.

With a sigh of defeat, Cor fell back into his seat and muttered, "Damn it...!"

He could not believe that he had just lost his second King thanks to some antagonistic force.

Gladiolus frowned in angered disappointment and hummed solemnly.

"Looks like those two are on their own now."

Ignis nodded and pushed up his spectacles by its bridge up his nose a little bit.

"Indeed. However, we must also do our part on this end to help Noctis in whatever way we can. Gathering up our remaining people and making preparations for when Sephiroth does arrive should be our top most priority. I can only hope that Prompto and Serah will come through and bring back Noctis."

Cor nodded his head in solemn agreement.

"Very well. I'll have Monica contact the Crownsguard, the Hunters and... the remaining members of the Glaive to rendezvous with us at Lestallum."

"Now that's a long gamble of odds, considering that those three are out there," Aranea commented grimly and gestured with her head to dark vacuum above, "It would take a miracle for them to actually make it back."

"They will," Lunafreya declared, and everyone turned to her.

She narrowed her eyes with determination and nodded.

"How Serah and Prompto will rescue Noctis, I cannot really say, but what I do know is that Noctis' fate remains tied to the future of Eos. The Hydraean has mandated this fact. And if Noctis survives, those two will survive as well. They will make it back, and for that I am certain."

Leaving the rest to begin planning their next move, Lunafreya turned her gaze back up to the stars in the vast cosmos above, and with renewed hope she muttered a soft prayer to herself.

"Noctis... Prompto... Serah... please be safe... and may the Astrals guide you back here safely..."

* * *

 **Oh boy! Things are getting really intense now! Kadaj has kidnapped Noctis, and poor Serah and Prompto are along for a long ride back to Sephiroth... or** are **they?**

 **Originally, my plan was to separate this into two different chapters - Kadaj was supposed to come in the following chapter. But I had second thoughts about it, and eventually I stuck with my guns on having all of this unfold in this chapter.**

 **Stay tuned for the next chapter, 'cause I guarantee it's gonna be a doozy. Should I give a small spoiler? Should I? Okay!**

 **(Not XIII, XV)**

 **And that's enough spilling of beans! Well, I'll see you guys next time, and feel free write constructive feedback! As always they're greatly appreciated to continued improvements!**


	4. A Run-in with New Allies

Closing her eyes for the final time... check.

Her body giving out for the final time... check.

Her entire life replaying in her dying mind... check.

She had pretty much met all the necessary criteria required to feel death's cold embrace. So the question on her mind now was... why wasn't she?

She had felt it for herself, that insanely long sword being driven right through the centre of her heart. The excruciating pain that came from her pumping organ. Her life quickly leaving her dying body. And yet now she was still retaining her own thoughts, her own senses, when in death she should have lost all of it.

And thus here she was, laying on the ground in who-knows-where, hearing inaudible sounds all around her that were getting clearer as she stirred awake.

As her senses also began to reactivate, she could something akin to a hand lightly slapping her on her left cheek.

"... come... up... -ille!" a woman's voice said to her, "Vanille... come back... us!"

Groaning softly to herself, Vanille opened her eyes. Her blurred vision slowly cleared, allowing her to recognise the face of the woman who was kneeling right beside her.

"Thank Pulse," Fang muttered with a relieved smile, "For a moment we thought you were really dead."

"... F... Fang...?" Vanille murmured back weakly as she slowly got up into a sitting position.

"In the flesh, girl," Fang replied back with a light grin.

While Vanille was happy to hear that, she was also confused at the same time.

"B-But... I saw you..." she muttered out, "Y-You were..."

" _Dead?_ " Fang finished for her with a raised eyebrow, "I was. For a while anyways."

Vanille titled her head in further confusion.

She opened her mouth to say something, but then another familiar voice shouted out loud, "LIGHTNING! SERAH! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Huffing in exasperation, Fang turned around and admonished the person, "Give it a rest, will you Snow?! They're not here!"

Not too far in front of them was a worried Snow who was walking around them in green-tinted caverns that they were currently in.

He stopped short of his stride and turned back to Fang.

" _Give it a rest?_ " he questioned with a distressed glare, "I'll fucking rest when I've my bride-to-be back in my arms!"

"Shouting out Serah's name is not gonna make her magically pop out of nowhere like some wish being granted!" Fang retorted back, "More than likely you'll bring us unwanted attention!"

"Then we'll rip apart any son of a bitch dumb enough to get in our way!" Snow proclaimed boldly.

"Guys, please," Vanille spoke out pleadingly, "We can't start fighting. Not at a time like this."

Snow opened his mouth to retort, but then he stopped as his thick-headed skull registered with her reasoning. With a deep breath, he slowly calmed down.

"... Sorry..." he apologised sincerely, "It's just that... I never ever thought that we'd be in another pickle after Bhunivelze."

Vanille nodded her head in understanding, "Neither did everyone else."

She took a good look around at the surrounding area. As far as she could see, there was nothing but caverns that seemed to stretch on forever without an end in sight.

"Where are we?" she asked Snow and Fang.

Fang pursed her lips grimly, "Well, from the looks of things... I'd say we're still on the asteroid."

"More like we're underneath its surface," Snow added in with folded arms.

"But I still don't get it..." Vanille muttered softly, "That man... Sephiroth... he killed all of us..."

"I don't get why we're still alive either, but fact of the matter is that we **are** still alive," Snow stated firmly, "And that means that Lightning and Serah are also okay, but they're probably somewhere else on this damned rock."

Vanille rubbed the back of her neck, deciding whether or not she should tell Snow about Serah's current whereabouts.

On one hand, she felt like she should, especially since Snow was Serah's fiancé and that he had a right to know what had happened to his beloved. On the other hand however... Vanille tried to shake off that dark imagination of Snow going on a rampage. He cared too much for Serah.

Slowly, she got up to her feet with a little help from Fang. Taking another good look around, she also noticed that there were a couple of familiar faces that were not amongst them.

"Where're the others?" she asked, "Sazh? Hope? Noel?"

Snow shook his head, "Not a damn clue. As far as I can tell we're the only ones here."

"More than likely they're somewhere else too," Fang stated with a slow nod, "Lost and confused like we are."

"But not for long," Snow nodded back then turned to Vanille, "You feelin' better now, Vanille?"

Vanille paused for a brief moment to work around with her joints and limbs. She nodded back her response.

"Let's get a move on then," Snow proclaimed, "The others aren't gonna find themselves."

He took the lead and proceeded off in a random direction.

After double-checking Vanille that she was able to cope on her own, Fang led her after the buffed man.

The trio ambled onwards through the partially-lit caverns. It was as Vanille had suspected – it was an endless road that stretched on and on for miles. And considering that she, Fang and Snow were on an asteroid, it was quite a surprising feature.

Without a clock or any apparatus that could tell time, there was no way for the trio to know how much time was flying.

It could have been thirty minutes, it could have been an hour.

Heck, it could have been about half-a-day before an exhausted Vanille muttered out, "Can we stop for a while?"

"No," came the curt reply from Snow as he pushed onwards.

"But we've been walking for ages..." Vanille complained with sagged shoulders akin to a young child.

With a sigh, Snow turned to her and stated, "Look! This ain't like our adventures on Cocoon and Pulse! Alright?"

He took a couple of steps towards her, "Where we are now is an entirely different situation. We're coming up against a being who slaughtered us all within just a few minutes – something even that bastard Bhunivelze couldn't even accomplish to begin with. If we stop pushing, then sooner or later that son of a bitch's gonna pick up on our trail. Heck! Maybe he just resurrected us, just so he can kill for sport!"

Vanille fell silent as she took in his logic.

"That is why we've gotta keep moving," Snow pressed, "If we're easy-pickings for this Sephiroth guy, then we've gotta make it look like we're tough and that we don't stay in one place for long. At least it gives us a fighting chance rather than embracing death sooner."

He turned around and started walking forth.

"If you're legs are feeling wobbly like jelly, you can always take a piggy-back ride on Fang," he called over his shoulder.

At his mentioning her name, Fang turned to Vanille, who was staring at her with puppy dog eyes.

Fang shook her head with an exasperated sigh, and then she gestured for Vanille to climb on her back.

Within seconds, her childhood friend eagerly hopped on, and Fang grunted under the surprisingly heavy weight.

She started trudging off after Snow, her thoughts suddenly filled with a number of revenge plans against the latter.

As they continued to trek on through the caverns, Snow darted his wary eyes about, constantly on a look-out for any unwanted surprises that Sephiroth could have left waiting. This asteroid was under that freak's control after all, so anything could happen in a blink of an eye.

And yet a part of Snow was hoping that Sephiroth would show his face if he did. After all, he was the one who slit his throat right in front of Serah. He would never forget the look of horror on her face when his world darkened all around him, and it was at that moment that he felt vulnerable. Very vulnerable.

Not because he let his guard down, but because his strength and might was meager compared to the sheer brutality that Sephiroth displayed. And that was something that he swore on his own life never to let happen, not ever again.

How could he possibly be worthy of Serah's love, if he could not even protect her to begin with?

With that question, his thoughts trailed back to when he had attempted to end the Chaos infusion by sacrificing himself. He absorbed it into his form, and became a Cie'th. But since he was in that form, he became mindless feral which thereby meant he could not kill himself.

Which was why he decided to throw himself at Lightning, and tried to force her to end his miserable existence. It was a reckless and insensitive decision, as roughly described by Lightning herself, since he had not realised at the time that she sorely needed his help in saving Serah.

Since that day, Snow had vowed on his life to never act rashly again, and instead would always fight on to protect Serah. And it was because of this fact that from behind him, Vanille felt much more discouraged to tell him about where Serah was.

The look on his face if he heard it...

"... Vanille?" Fang's voice cut into her thoughts, and Vanille snapped out of staring ahead at Snow.

"Huh? What?" she muttered softly and she glanced down at Fang, who commented out of concern, "You seem troubled."

"T-Troubled?" Vanille parroted with a titled head.

Fang frowned knowingly, "C'mon sister, I know what that look of yours means when something's bothering you."

Vanille bashfully rubbed her neck, "Y-You noticed?"

Fang stared at her dumbfounded.

"Did you suddenly forget that we've known each another for almost our entire lives?" she questioned with an almost slightly joking tone.

Vanille smiled back lightly, "How could I?"

There was brief pause of silence, which then prompted Fang to say, "C'mon, spit it out. What's ailing you?"

Vanille's smile dropped, and then she let out a deep sigh.

Inwardly she was praying that her childhood friend could be trustworthy enough to not have such a big mouth.

"Fine... but you'll have to promise that you'll keep this between ourselves," she brokered in a serious tone.

Fang raised a questioning eyebrow at her statement, but then she gave a sharp nod. To make sure that their voices could not even reach Snow's ears, Fang slowed in her pacing for a short moment, until the man was about ten feet away from them.

Vanille refocused her eyes back towards Snow, and with another deep breath, she whispered softly, "It's Serah."

"Serah?" Fang muttered softly in confusion, "What about her?"

Vanille closed her eyes and laid her chin on Fang's shoulder.

"Remember when you and Snow discussed about Lightning and Serah being aboard this thing?" she asked.

Fang slowly nodded her head, perturbed by the way she was elaborating on her statement.

"Well um... the thing is..." Vanille slowly disclosed albeit hesitantly, "... ... only Lightning's aboard..."

Now Fang was really suspicious about Vanille. She could see it first-hand the uneasiness that briefly crossed her face even before they had started walking aimlessly.

Once in a while, she would glance up at Vanille to see how she was doing, and every time she would still see her friend staring on ahead at Snow with an expression that reeked of guilt and nervousness.

For a long while she had been wondering what was bothering Vanille so much, but now she was slowly putting the pieces together. Fear was slowly creeping up her spine in the form of a chill, and her mind was attempting to plead with Vanille not to say what she thought she was going to say.

Vanille opened a single eye and stared into Fang's.

"Serah's... not on the asteroid..." she finally concluded.

She yelped from the sudden halt in pace from her friend.

"... Come again?" Fang asked.

Vanille grinned nervously, "Serah's not on the asteroid."

Fang nervously glanced to Snow up in front, and then harshly whispered back, "What do you mean "she's not here"?!"

"Well um… about that…" Vanille mumbled, "I may have… sent her away…"

Fang halted in her steps completely, and she was staring at her friend in absolute shock.

"W-Wait what, wha…" she stumbled over her words, "W-Where the hell did you send her off too?!"

"To the next world that Sephiroth's currently heading towards," Vanille replied back, "To warn its people so that they can prepare themselves."

Once she was finished, she mentally braced herself for an admonishing lecture.

Fang went silent and her eyes were staring deep into her soul. From the way she had her features contorting, Vanille knew that she was about to explode, and who could blame her? She had always been like that since day one. Even though they were best friends, Fang had always taken upon herself to act more like a sisterly figure to her.

It was because of her that Vanille had been saved on multiple occasion from major incidents that stem from her antics, and also made her think twice about doing things that had already been done.

There was a slow intake of air, and then Fang spoke out. "Sensible choice."

Vanille was at a lost for words.

"W... What...?" she muttered out in confusion.

Fang smiled back lightly, "You heard me. It's a sensible decision to make after all, getting the next planet mobilise to confront Sephiroth, even though the likely outcome would still be the god coming out on top."

"But... what about Serah?" Vanille questioned, "Aren't you at least worried that she could still die out there?"

Her question quirked a raised eyebrow from Fang.

"What? And just let Sephiroth kill off innocents without 'em even knowing? Now that'd be a tad bit selfish on our part, wouldn't you think?"

She smiled with optimism, "And besides, I think Serah's able to take care of herself. Why, she survived travelling across time... of course she still died after that but that's another story. But still, if she can pull off something as dangerous as time-travel, why couldn't she survive an alien planet?"

Vanille stared off into the distance as she dwelled on her friend's point. In many ways, Fang was right about the whole planet warning part.

It was highly likely regardless of any warning or not, Sephiroth would still get his way with the next world either way. But giving the problem a closer look, and it was better to have the planet's people alerted to the coming threat, than let them be killed by Sephiroth with little to almost no awareness as they lived out their normal lives.

Of course, Sephiroth would still conquer the next world easily without resistance equalling to his own might, but a weaker resistance was better than none at all. The people deserved to have a fighting chance against the god would seek to claim their lives by his blade, to safeguard their freedom and the rights of their homeworld.

As for Serah, Fang also brought up some good points.

Seeing as she was the younger sister of Lightning, Serah proved to have some prominent traits that she shared with Lightning. She was strong, enduring, and was extremely fierce and compassionate about what she was fighting for.

Even when faced with uncertain dangers and peril, Serah stood strong, undaunted no matter how tough situations got. And Vanille knew all of it just by meeting Serah in her dream in the Void Beyond.

At first glance, she could already see the changes that had moulded Serah from within for the past three years since the fall of Cocoon.

To say the least, Vanille was happy and proud at how far Serah had come in her journey, and was disheartened when both she and Fang sensed in their dream that she had succumbed to death's cold embrace. It was because of all that had happened, she had wanted to give Serah another chance to do something monumental for the world, or rather _another_ world.

It did not matter if Sephiroth still manages to kill her or not. What counts was that Serah had been given a fighting chance not just to save the next world, but also avenge her own people, and many others that came before them.

With that said however, while Fang was happy that she made this choice, the same could not be shared with Snow, and possibly Lightning.

With that in mind, Vanille whispered to Fang, "You don't suppose Snow and Lightning will also validate what I did?"

Fang chuckled lightly, "After all that's happened, it's anybody's guess. Don't worry though. If either or both of those blockheads flare up a tantrum, I'll be there."

Vanille smiled back gratefully and hugged a little tighter, "Thanks Fang. You sure relieved a load off my shoulders."

Fang nodded back and placed a gentle hand on Vanille's arm, "Hey, what're best friends for? Through thick and thin, I'll always be with you."

"How quaint..." a new male voice drawled out from behind them.

Alarmed, Fang spun around to face a silver-haired figure who was standing just six feet away from her.

"... the bonds of friendships remains taut and unstrained even in the testiest of times..." the young man continued as he gestured with an arm towards Fang.

With a calm composure, Yazoo grinned, "I almost feel guilty about doing what I have to do."

"I-Isn't that the guy who sliced off your limbs?" Vanille asked worriedly, which quickly reminded Fang that she was carrying her.

Fang sent a glare directly at Yazoo and nodded.

"Looks like it's round two," she muttered as a brief memory of her encounter with the man replayed in her mind.

She still could not come to grasp with the way Yazoo had fended off her every attack with relative ease, how he had managed to inflict major injuries to her in just ten seconds.

Yazoo smirked, "Yes, a fond little memory, wasn't it? You, who so boldly thought that you could stand up against a child of Sephiroth."

Fang narrowed her eyes, "Ah... so you can see my memories too?"

"Of course! As a Son, I along with my brothers have been granted great abilities bestowed by Father. Reading the souls of mortals is one of them."

"Colour me unimpressed," Fang thought to herself, which prompted a huff from Yazoo.

"Hearing their thoughts would be another," he added, looking slightly offended, "I will not have you talk back about Father that way."

"Who says I was talking about 'im?" Fang retorted back.

"I... I just did!" Yazoo snapped back in annoyance.

Fang fought the urge to roll her eyes, but that mere thought only aggravated Yazoo even more. He pulled out his gunblade.

"Looks like I'll have to teach you some manners," he growled and pointed the barrel end of his weapon directly at Fang.

Turning to Vanille, Fang said, "Looks like break time's over for you."

Vanille nodded back hastily, "Don't let me stop you."

Fang bended a knee and lowered herself, allowing Vanille to hop off her back quickly.

With her attention solely focused on Yazoo, Fang summoned her spear.

"Vanille! Go catch up with Snow! Tell him what's happening over here!" she ordered her friend as she twirled her spear and got into her battle stance.

"B-But... what about...?" Vanille asked back worriedly, but Fang held up a hand.

"I can handle myself!" she responded assuredly, "I can take on this guy!"

"But you barely lasted a minute against him the first time!" Vanille pointed out.

"... I can take on this guy THIS TIME!" Fang corrected herself and gave Vanille a wink.

Vanille was still unsure about her friend's chances against that man, but if she was confident this time round, then who was she to protest?

With a sharp nod, she turned and started racing off in the direction Snow had trekked off. Leaving behind Fang to glare down tensely at Yazoo who was smiling at her friend as she retreated away.

"A wise decision to keep her out of trouble," he remarked, "But you do realise that I will go after her next once I take you down."

Fang scoffed, "Right... like it's gonna be a repeat performance of last time."

Yazoo shrugged, "Eh, you're probably right, mortal. It will not be like last time; I will make this quick."

With a burst of speed with his legs, he launched himself right at Fang, who twirled her spear in a defensive motion.

Yazoo slashed at Fang's chest, and her spear quickly deflected it.

Fang quickly countered with a jab to his chest, which forced Yazoo back a couple of metres.

As he recovered, she went on the offensive.

She delivered a set of kicks and punches with her legs and her free hand, and then jab the business end of her spear at Yazoo's chest.

But as he was Sephiroth's child, he reacted quickly and gripped at Fang's spear, halting the blade merely inches away from his chest.

Both fighters struggled in that heated moment, with Fang attempting to pierce her spear into Yazoo. But Yazoo held on his own with his own strength, which brought them into a brief stalemate.

As they continued to struggle, Yazoo could not help but feel a bit of admiration for the woman's sheer determination to take him on. He knew what the eventual outcome would be, but the mortal clearly had bold courage to stand strong by what she believed.

"You show great strength, mortal," he voiced out his thoughts with a smile, "If you join us, perhaps Father will give you a glorious place in his new world."

Fang gritted her teeth, "What? And be reviled and feared by those that I cherish? Thanks but no thanks, pal!"

Yazoo's smile dropped and he let loose a sigh of disappointment.

"You misunderstand my offer," he stated with a shake of his head, "Alas, such is the short-sighted mind of a mortal."

"I understand it correctly," Fang retorted, "I don't need any fancy shrines and poets dedicating to me. I don't settle with any of that, 'cause being apart of my own kind is more than enough!"

And that with, she delivered a headbutt which sent Yazoo stumbling backwards and with her spear in hand.

Seeing that he was wide open, Fang took a swipe at his face with her spear.

Yazoo cried out in surprise as he felt a sudden stinging at his cheek.

Far up ahead from the duelling pair, Vanille was pushing herself to move as fast as she could.

Her body clearly had yet to fully recover, but she forced herself to exert every ounce of energy she had, up to her very limit.

Snow could not have trailed far ahead, so she was expecting to bump into him.

"So why can't I _see_ him in front of me?" Vanille wondered to herself.

The last time she had seen him, Snow was still heading far ahead through the endless caverns. He couldn't have possibly turned a corner somewhere; the caverns looked too wide open to feel like enclosed caves.

She also had to rule out the lack of light, considering the ample amount of shining green crystals all around her.

Slowly, she came to a halt in her pacing, and then a realisation dawned on her.

Yazoo had founded her and Fang a couple of minutes ago, and he wasn't the only Son.

So that means...

"You're too clever," a gruff voice whispered from behind her. **Just** behind her.

Vanille tensed up when she felt something being pressed into her back.

In the next second, there was an electric shock that sent her flying forwards by a couple of feet.

Vanille collided hard against a wall weaponised by jagged crystals, wincing as she felt the sharp edges cutting into her chest.

She fell back onto the ground hard as blood began to ooze out of newly formed cuts on her body.

As she struggled to recover from the combined shock and injuries, she heard footsteps slowly trailing towards her.

"Y'know, for all that talk of friends, I think you should've listened to your own intuition," the voice continued to taunt her, "And leaving the big man alone all by himself is definitely not friendly."

Vanille opened her eyes, and gazed down the green ones that belonged to Sephiroth's Son who had short-hair and that gauntlet of his.

Loz was what Sephiroth called him when he was pulling on Serah's hair.

"W-What did you do t-to Snow?" she demanded weakly as she slowly pulled herself up by her arms.

Loz grinned maniacally and shrugged, "Well... I could say he's currently pissing his pants from my free "shock therapy", but that's an understatement."

He bended a knee and knelt down closer to her level.

"Suffice to say, what I did to him was nothing, compared to what I've got in store for you, sweetcheeks," he cooed mockingly as he stroked Vanille's chin with a thumb.

All Vanille could do at that point was glare back her defiance. There was no way she was going to let herself become this bastard's whore.

Loz lightly swiped at one of Vanille's arms, and almost immediately she buckled from her loss of balance.

She fell back on the ground with a loud grunt, only barely looking up to see Loz having the two prongs of his gauntlet aimed at her face.

"Say cheese..." he purred with a chuckle, and then the prongs extended out to make contact with Vanille's cheeks. At the same time, Vanille closed her eyes, preparing to get another powerful voltage attack to her face.

But at that moment, there was a war cry, and then Loz founded himself being punched away, just before the gauntlet released an electric charge which sent a barrage right at the ceiling.

Vanille opened her eyes from the resulting explosion and looked to see Loz ducking away from the falling debris. And then her eyes turned towards her saviour, who was panting with effort from his attack.

Taking a glance at Vanille, Snow sighed with a shake of his head, "And that's why we always stick together."

He casted a Cure spell on Vanille which instantly healed her injuries.

Finally rejuvenated, Vanille hopped to her feet.

"Sweet! I'm back in the game!" she cheered with a pumped fist.

And then she smiled gratefully at Snow, "'Preciate the pick-me-up. Thought I was gonna have a permanent paint on my face."

Snow smirked slightly, "Really? A fixture to that piece of work? Doesn't seem like you to try something new."

Vanille glared at him and folded her arms.

"Hey! I'm a girl you know! My interests always varies from moment to moment!" she snapped albeit in a playful tone.

"Oh really?" Snow challenged with a grin.

"Really!" Vanille boastfully proclaimed.

"Then you must have some peculiar hobbies..." Snow snarked, "... in your dreams as a crystal decoration."

Vanille stared at him for a silent moment.

"You get a pass this time," she stated as she turned her attention back to Loz who was slowly recovering on the ground.

"Looks like someone hasn't had enough fun yet," Loz growled as he got to his feet, smoke was billowing from his gauntlet as it reset, "Came back for another therapy session?"

"Yeah, like you'll make me soil myself a second time," Snow snapped back with tightened fists.

Vanille took a glance at Snow, noting a word that he rarely used.

"Soil?" she muttered softly to him.

Snow suddenly faltered in bravado, as he suddenly realised his mistake.

Vanille gaped her mouth open and gasped, now fully aware of what he meant.

"Y-You mean you..." she started speaking aloud, but then Snow quickly placed a finger to her lips as he flushed with embarrassment.

"Don't tell Serah 'bout this," he tried to warn her, but his shamed tone had failed to become much more threatening.

Vanille pushed away his finger and remarked, "I think Lightning would have a better field day than your fiancée."

Snow grimaced at the thought.

"That'll probably haunt me for a while," he murmured to himself.

Vanille giggled, "Oh ho, looks like even the leader of NORA even has some down times."

There was a loud cough which brought their attention back to an annoyed-looking Loz.

"If you two are finished with you're conversation, I would like to get this underway before I really lose it," he growled impassively.

Snow waved a hand dismissively at him as he glowered at Vanille, "Be right with ya, meathead! I need to think of a comeback for my friend here right now. Really important."

Now absolutely offended, Loz snarled and charged right at the both of them.

His attempt to attack however only earned him a powerful punch to the jaw which sent him reeling.

Shaking off the pain in his fist, Snow grinned at Vanille, "Wanna make a knuckle sandwich out of this asshole?"

Vanille's eyes gleamed as she summoned Mistilteinn.

They both stood at the ready as Loz went on the attack again.

As before, Snow was the hard hitter who would perform physical attacks, whilst Vanille would be the caster of magic spells. It was a strategic move to ensure that Loz would not be able to single them out as easily as when they were separated.

Its effectiveness was playing out first-hand.

Even though he no longer had his beloved AMP-fused trench coat and his ice axe, Snow still had one last set of weapons at his disposal. He delivered punches and jabs, kicks and knees, and blocked attacks with almost relative ease.

Loz also appeared to be holding out on his own quite well, seeing as he too was delivering his own attacks at a constant pace. For a moment, it looked as though the two men were at a stalemate. They were evenly matched, with neither barely able to inflict damage on the other.

But that was where Snow had an edge in advantage.

He and Loz may have the brawn, but only one of them had the brains.

Just as Loz went for a kick to his gut, Snow grabbed hold of his thigh and then swiftly delivered a kick to his exposed crotch.

Loz jumped and let out a squeaky whimper as he bended over in pain.

With the Son momentarily distracted, Snow took a step back, allowing Vanille to step forwards. With her staff in hand, she went all out and assaulted Loz with cat-like agility.

When Loz was forced backwards by the non-stop barrage, Vanille ended her combo with a powerful Firaga attack which blasted the Son all the way back into a jagged wall.

She could not help but form a smile on her face.

Oh... irony can be such a bitch.

Loz collapsed onto the ground with a loud thud, and he grunted through the pain that he had gained from both mortals.

Snow and Vanille walked over to him victoriously and stopped just a few centimetres away.

"Had enough yet?" Snow asked him with a triumphant smile.

The only response he got was more groaning as Loz got up to one knee.

Snow folded his arms, "Y'know? For a Son of a God, you don't look that bright."

"Nor does he look so tough," Vanille added in, to which Snow nodded his head in agreement.

But then all of a sudden, they heard dark chuckling coming from Loz himself, and they looked back down to him.

"What's so funny, tough guy?" Snow sneered at him.

Loz waved a hand casually and slowly got on his feet.

"Seems that I've made the same stupid mistake again," he commented with an evil grin, "I've underestimated you mortals. Again."

Snow and Vanille briefly glanced at one another in somewhat amusement.

It would appear that Loz was either much more stupid than they thought, or that they were just overestimating the threat that radiated from him. Either way, they probably were not going to take him as seriously as his brothers and Sephiroth.

"Looks like it's time for the cat to come out of the bag," Loz declared.

Before either of them could react, both founded themselves being knocked down to the ground by a single punch. And the pain that followed was excruciatingly unbearable, much to their surprise.

And then before they knew it, Loz used his gauntlet taser which sent both of them flying off at a considerable distance, until they skidded to a halt right to where Fang was.

Vanille was horrified by the amount of bruises and injuries that her friend had sustained from Yazoo who was standing over her with a cocky smirk.

In a flash, Loz suddenly appeared right beside Yazoo and both brothers acknowledged one another with a single nod.

Turning their attention to the downed trio, Yazoo commented to Loz, "Why brother... don't you think that these mortals look tired?"

Loz grinned maddingly, "Indeed they are, Yazoo. As good hosts, we must always take good care of our passengers, do we?"

Yazoo grinned back his response, and they both slowly walked towards the trio, their weapons prepped and ready to strike.

Snow narrowed his eyes at the brothers and then attempted to get up, meanwhile Vanille was cradling Fang who had been rendered unconscious from her bout with Yazoo.

"If only third time's a charm..." she thought to herself with a despondent sigh.

It was hopeless now to fight off these two fiends whom were now living up to their titles. They were children of Sephiroth, and for good reason. Even as of now, Vanille was starting to take back what she thought about overestimating them.

"Wise choice, sweetcheeks," Loz taunted her with a grin as he gripped tighter on his gauntlet's handle, "Too bad it won't spare you from a session of agonising torture."

Both brothers raised their respective weapons high in the air, and the trio braced themselves for the inevitable.

The silent atmosphere was deafening, save for the sound of footsteps heading their way.

Wait, _footsteps?_

Both Loz and Yazoo were the first to acknowledge the new foreign sound as they turned around to face a figure calmly walking in their direction.

At their feet, Snow and Vanille were also peering over the side to see the unknown person heading their way.

The person was donned in indigo pants, a sleeveless shirt, and a belt. He also wore brown boots, gauntlets with a pauldron over his left shoulder and a band in his left wrist. Physically, his skin was lightly toned and he was slightly below average height, with a lean and toned build. He had spiky blond hair that had one particularly long spike.

For a moment, the man's appearance somewhat reminded Vanille of how Lightning used to don her Guardian Corps uniform, which made her conclude that he was probably a soldier of some sorts. And then her eyes trailed the shockingly gigantic sword that he was carrying on his back.

She heard snarling coming from above, and she looked up to see Loz and Yazoo sneering down the newcomer.

This set of alarm bells in her head.

It would seem that those two knew the stranger, and not in a friendly way.

Snow seemed to be thinking the same way as he nodded in her direction.

"Well..." Yazoo growled cautiously, "You have finally crawled out of your hole again, Traitor."

The stranger glared down both him and Loz with proud blue eyes that Vanille swore were glowing, but he responded with only silence.

Loz took a threatening step forward.

"You have a lot to answer for!" he snarled, "And Father has been _eagerly_ awaiting your return for years!"

"If by _return_ you mean _capture_ , then no thanks," the stranger responded in an impudent tone, "I'm not interested."

Yazoo scoffed and pointed his sword at him, "It is not a matter of interest, especially when it comes to yourself and Father."

He grinned evilly, "And speaking of whom, Father will be most pleased to hear about your reappearance."

The stranger took another step forward, and the brothers took on attack stances.

"Hmph. Looks like you'll have to fight me to take me in," he muttered, "Hence the reason why I didn't come alone."

The brothers raised their eyebrows at this when all of a sudden, they heard a female voice shout out, " _Final Heaven!_ "

Both turned around too late to be met by a powerful energy blast which sent them flying backwards.

Snow and Vanille stared on in absolute shock and amazement by what had happened, and they barely acknowledged the presence of another stranger that appeared from around a corner.

"You guys alright?" a woman asked with concern as she came up towards them.

She had dark brown hair, which fell below her waist and was tied at the tips to form a dolphin-tail split. She wore a white tank top and black mini-skirt with a belt and suspenders, and donned red and black gloves that extend to her elbows, red boots, black socks, and a metal guard on her left elbow.

She turned to the man and asked, "Are these three apart of the newcomers, Cloud?"

The man called Cloud nodded his head grimly and folded his arms.

"Yeah, just like the other ones that Squall's team picked up. One them looks to be in critical condition."

With her eyes narrowing with concern, she knelt down to Vanille and Fang who was in her arms. She picked out the latter immediately as the injured one.

After a brief diagnosis, she commented softly, "She looks banged up, but thankfully she has no internal injuries. Otherwise this would probably get a lot more complicated."

Gazing up to Vanille, she asked her, "And I presume you're the friend of this person?"

Vanille nodded her head and introduced herself, "Vanille."

The woman nodded back with a genuine smile, "A pleasure to meet you Vanille. My name's Tifa Lockhart, but you can just call me Tifa."

She removed something from her pocket and held it over Fang's injured body.

As Vanille watched, the item that looked like a feather, disappeared in a flash of light. A second later, Fang's body began to glow, as her injuries started to close and heal themselves.

A second later and the glow disappeared, leaving Fang unmarked from injuries. But still to Vanille's terror, her friend still remained unconscious.

Tifa stroked her chin, "Hmm... it appears that your friend could be under the effects of Mako poisoning."

Vanille looked to her with widened eyes, "P-Poisoning?! Is it fatal?!"

Tifa shook her head, "I don't think so, otherwise your friend would have already been dead within seconds of administering. Besides, a large concentration of corrupted Mako in the body would have dulled any effects of Phoenix Down or any Cure spells."

Her assurance allayed some of Vanille fears at least. She could not even imagine a life without her best friend in it, if she still had one anyway.

It was also a good thing that Tifa and Cloud came to their rescue. Who knew what Loz and Yazoo might have done to her and her friends had they not showed up.

Turning back to Cloud, Tifa implored, "We'd better get these three back to base as quickly as possible."

Cloud's attention was directed elsewhere, but he replied, "Might wanna take care of these two first."

He nodded to the two Sons as they were slowly getting back up from their brief unconsciousness.

Eyeing them with a detested scowl, Tifa rose back up to her full height.

As she went to stand by Cloud's side, she instructed Vanille and Snow, "Take your friend and run."

"What about you two?" Snow asked them worriedly as Vanille casted a Cura spell on herself and him.

Cloud glanced back to him and his lips curled upwards slightly.

"We've handled the Sons before. For us, it's simply just an exercise routine," he responded, "Now go. The rest of our search party should be right in that direction."

He pointed in the direction of pathway that was narrow compared to the rest of the caverns.

Snow followed his gaze towards another endless road ahead, and then he gave a sharp nod. He got to his feet and ran over to scoop up Fang in his arms.

"Time to boot out!" he exclaimed to Vanille as he charged off in the direction Cloud told them to go in.

Seeing them retreat, Loz cried out angrily, "Hey! Stop right there!"

He attempted to go after the trio, only for Tifa to step right into his path. He skidded to a stop before he could collide with her, but he was still unfortunate to be too close to her.

Loz was met by an upper cut jab and a powerful kick to his gut that sent him flying back to where Yazoo was.

The other Son was glowering unamused at his downed brother. He refocused his attention on both their enemies.

"It truly is regrettable Kadaj is not present..." he lamented with a dramatic sigh, "He would have enjoyed another duel with you, Brother."

Cloud gritted his teeth at that title, "I'm not your brother, nor am I a pawn in Sephiroth's grand plan."

Yazoo scoffed, "That is where you are wrong. See, you may no longer be a valuable asset to Father as he once perceived you to be, yet even now when you appear to be of no more use to him, he still has some influence left in you."

It was at this mentioning that Cloud faltered a little.

A brief memory came to mind when he nearly almost absent-mindedly killed someone he cared about, atop the altar of the Forgotten Capital.

Even to this day he could still feel the lingering sense of weakness and guilt as he watched her get killed before his eyes, as he simply stood there with inaction.

"Cloud! Look out!" Tifa's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, which prompted Cloud to raise Buster Sword in front of him, just as Yazoo leapt forwards to attack his head. He barely managed to defend himself as Yazoo now went on a relentless attack.

Seeing her childhood friend struggling to fight back, Tifa ran over to aid him. However, she was intercepted by Loz who suddenly appeared in front of her and grabbed her by her throat. The strength of his grip was insurmountable, and Tifa founded herself gasping out desperately for air.

It did not stay that way for long, for soon she founded herself being hurled backwards by a electric shock from his gauntlet. Tifa barely managed to recover as Loz charged forth to engage in close combat.

Three feet away from them, Yazoo had back Cloud against a wall, and the latter was gnashing his teeth hard, attempting to find an opening to exploit.

Yazoo landed another strike at his belly, and Cloud almost failed to block it. This time however, their blades were locked with sparks flying out with the intense friction.

"So, this is the might of Cloud Strife?" he taunted with a chuckle, "The self-proclaimed SOLDIER 1st Class?"

He leaned in closer, "It no longer matters how powerful you once were, Brother. Any might in the universe is inconsequential, compared to the glory of Sephiroth!"

He pushed his prey closer against the wall, and he could hear the grunts of pain seeping through his teeth.

Cloud could feel the thousand crystals that were biting into his back, and the fire in his arms as they weakened.

His eyes then chanced a glance at Tifa, who was lying sprawled on the ground with Loz towering over her. He looked about ready to finish her off, same as how Yazoo was ready to finish him off.

"Is... Is this really the end?" he thought to himself as reality slowly began to set in.

It was beyond hopeless to think someway, somehow, both he and Tifa would make it out this time.

Sephiroth's Sons were just too much for them this time compared to previous encounters.

They had exploited his weakness and took advantage of it, and he was now paying the price for losing focus.

 _"Maybe... it is time you give up..."_ Cloud's inner voice counselled him from the back of his mind, and slowly, he started to lower his defence.

Yazoo grinned even wider as his blade forced his opponent's own blade closer to his own throat.

How wondrous would it be to injure Father's greatest foe with his own weapon.

Cloud's thoughts slowly became hazy, and his mind began trailing off.

His emotions darkened, filling him with nothing but sadness, rage... and _despair_...

A switch flipped inside of his mind, and Cloud suddenly snapped out of it. He was astonished by just how close he had succumbed to that lingering presence in his mind.

That inner voice that he knew was not his own. He knew who it was that was trying to seize control of his mind again.

"Sephiroth..." he thought wildly with a growing fire in his heart, "You'll never take me. Never again!"

That fire continued to build and build, and it fed right into his rejuvenating strength until it was too much to contain.

Cloud suddenly started to push back against the Son with the greatest of ease, and Yazoo's smile quickly disappeared, replaced by growing horror by the way the former's blade was starting to glow in a blue hue.

"I've got a message for your Father..." he snarled at Yazoo, "I will never become his puppet... EVER AGAIN!"

With that last word, he swung his sword outwards with a loud cry of anger.

The force was insanely powerful that it sent Yazoo flying all the way back, until he disappeared out of sight.

With renewed energy that billowed from Buster Sword in blue smoke, Cloud turned his attention towards Loz who was now facing him after having heard his brother's screams.

His lips curled into a taunting smirk once he had registered the terrified look that was marked on Loz's face.

And then the smile dropped and his eyes narrowed.

"Keep yours hands off my girl," he growled darkly and twirling his sword, he launched himself to attack Loz with his Omnislash.

* * *

 **Whew! Another chapter done! And as promised, more Final Fantasy characters being introduced (with more still to come in the future!)**

 **I can see the momentum slowly growing for this story, so I think I might be onto something. And that is truly exciting!**

 **To address a question one of you have posted, depending on how far this story goes, updates will vary between every few days or weeks, to probably about a month. This is taking into account that I have something coming up in August, which would take me away from writing this story for a while. But rest assured that my inspiration for this one will never die, so long as it remains as my go-to comfort zone!**


	5. Reuniting with Friends

If there was one thing that he had to admit, it would be that finding stragglers was like finding needles in a haystack. And against the constant chit-chatting of his young female colleague, he was certain that his chances of getting a migraine was higher than encountering either Sephiroth or his Sons.

Thankfully he was not the only one to feel that way. Since Selphie was the one bringing up the rear, it was down to an irritated Quistis and annoyed Zell to follow closely at their leader's heels.

As they tried to ignore Selphie's continuous babbling about meeting new strangers from another world, Zell asked his leader, "Um... Squall? Permission to ask you something?"

From up front, Squall glanced back over his shoulders to him and squinted his eyes slightly.

"That's _sir_ to you, Dinct. And permission is granted."

Zell grumbled a little at that order, but he still complied anyway.

"Yes... sir. Has AVALANCHE gotten back about locating the newcomers yet?"

Squall, as though he almost expected this question with another look at Selphie, shook his head.

"Negative. If the stragglers were already located, then our colleagues would have radioed in by now."

"And considering that Sephiroth could easily sense us out here, it definitely makes rescue ops a bit more complicated," Quistis noted with a wary look all around her.

Pausing momentarily, Squall turned around to face his team.

"Not likely. With that girl's magic in place, not even Sephiroth could pick up on our lifeforce that easily," he stated in a matter-of-fact tone, "But when it comes to newly resurrected stragglers however... Which is why we're out here."

Quistis nodded her head.

"Round 'em up and bring 'em back to HQ before those creeps nab them."

She suddenly felt someone bump into her from behind. Out of sheer instinct, she delivered a roundhouse kick to the person's stomach. She turned around to face her prey, only to find Selphie laying on the ground.

"Ugh..." she was groaning as she nursed the aching pain at her stomach.

Relaxing her stance, Quistis admonished her, "Don't ever sneak up on me like that again! For a second I thought you were one of Sephiroth's offspring or whatever the hell he calls them!"

"Sons," Zell whispered to her, and earned her scornful glare in return.

"Don't care!" she snapped at him.

Squall fought back an eyeroll of exasperation as he stepped forwards and casted a Cure spell on Selphie, who quickly hopped to her upon immediate recovery.

He turned to Quistis who was now giving Zell an earful and was just about ready to tell her to stand down.

Just then, his ears picked up a faint sound. Squall spun around with eyes filled with alertness, gazing down the cavernous direction that the sound was coming from.

"Sir? What's the matter?" Selphie asked from behind, which also brought Quistis out of her lecture with Zell.

Squall quickly glanced back and raised an index finger to his lips, urging his teammates to stay silent, and they complied. With the utmost caution, Squall slowly advanced in the direction of the sound.

Sharing a wary glance with Zell, both he and Quistis started trailing after their leader. Selphie following very close at their heels, but a bit too close for the other pair's taste. The young female who was desperate to not trail far behind, attempted to maintain her position at just a step or two behind Quistis and Zell.

Unfortunately however, she inadvertently stepped on the heels of either of the pair's shoes, and also kicked their shins and ankles on accident. It also did not help she was starting to ramble off again, this time about how much she was sorry and that she was afraid of getting left behind.

At first, Zell and Quistis tried to block out her voice, but then they looked at one another. They were slowly starting to get pissed off.

Quistis was slowly growing a thought of consideration to kick down the teen again, this time harder than the first kick.

Squall shut out all noises coming from his team as he continued to focus his efforts on what was in front of him.

As he continued ambling forth towards the sound, the louder and clearer it slowly became. Eventually, he was able to pick up voices and the words that were being vocalised.

Eventually, he and his team arrived at a point where the voices appeared to be just ahead of them; where Squall raised a hand to signal his team to a halt. He turned back around to face them, ignoring Selphie as she nursed a small bruise on her cheek.

"Be on guard. Stay low, and be ready for anything," Squall told them in a strict, but softer tone.

If it were the Sons, then neither he nor anyone else on his team could afford to be unprepared for any bad situation. Regardless of whether or not AVALANCHE had told them about the Sons were true, Squall was not ready to take any unnecessary risks.

With his gunblade out and at the ready, Squall slowly advanced forwards.

Within a couple of paces and a few extra metres, the team of SeeD closed the gap between themselves and what appeared to be an opening junction that connected several other passageways.

And there at the dead centre of the area, were three male men that were in the midst of a conversation.

Squall signalled for his team to stop and they took cover behind a jutted-out section of the cavern walls. They peered over the side to listen in to what they were saying.

"… do you mean by "we wait here"?! Hasn't it not registered in your head that we're still trapped on this rock that, need I remind you, is FLYING THROUGH SPACE?!" the first person, a young man with shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes, cried out in absolute astonishment.

"Yeah! My boy's still out there too!" the second man with dark skin and an afro hairstyle concurred with a frantic nod, "Probably scared and all alone!"

"And Yeul's out there too! _My_ Yeul! For all that we know she could probably be being tortured by that Sephiroth bastard as we speak!" the first person added on, pointing in a non-generalised direction to emphasise his point.

"You think I don't know that?!" the third person with long silver hair, green eyes snapped back, "But we've seen it ourselves! This place probably stretches on for miles! Miles! Without an end! If any of you two know someone who knows about this place besides Sephiroth, then please, call him immediately!"

"Poor saps…" Quistis commented softly with a shake of her head, "Pulled out from their world… and now they're in this hellhole with us…"

"They mentioned about other people too," Zell stated, "That means there ought to be more stragglers stuck somewhere else on this rock."

"Check out that man's afro getup," Selphie remarked with a tilt of her head, "He looks like he could just get down and start dancing under a disco ball."

Squall breathed out softly and he lowered his weapon.

Obviously those three were clearly not Sephiroth's children. They were stragglers.

Casting a glance to his teammates, Squall stated, "Weapons away. Approach in a non-threatening motion. We don't wanna give these people the idea that we could be enemies."

"Right! The friendly approach!" Zell nodded his head and made an extremely happy grin.

Quistis rolled her eyes and lightly punched his arm.

"Not _that_ cheerful, dummy. You could make 'em run for the hills with that creepy look."

Shaking his head in slight exasperation, Squall starting to move away from their hiding spot and out into the open.

"It would seem that you three could use some help," he declared to the stragglers in a strong tone, prompting the men to jump in fright at his sudden appearance.

"Ah! Ghost!" the dark-skinned man cried out.

And then Squall's other three members appeared from behind him.

"… I think we're in deep trouble…" the man added.

In turn, the other two men stepped forwards and summoned their weapons.

Fighting back the urge to let out a sigh of exasperation, Quistis moved a step closer to the stragglers and lifted up her hands.

"I can assure you three, we mean you no harm," she stated loud and clear.

The first person stared hard at her.

"Yeah? That's what they always say."

"If we were enemies, we would have attacked you already," Squall pointed out with almost a forced calmness.

He gestured to his free hands and those of his team.

"But as you can plainly see, we are unarmed."

"That's how it is, huh?" the second man challenged from behind his friends, "Just say you're unarmed and we're supposed to be cool?"

"Are you guys really like this to every stranger you meet?" Zell questioned with raised eyebrows that were filled with disbelief.

"Not the ones whose fashion sense look far less than dope," the first person stated, nodding at the black uniforms that Squall's team were sporting.

Selphie gaped out in absolute astonishment then gazed down at her black SeeD uniform.

"H-Hey! That was uncalled for!" she snapped at him angrily.

"Noel ain't wrong," the second person remarked with a nod, "Your clothes look rather duller than the blackest night."

"W-What, w-why you… This is our official SeeD uniform!" Zell retorted.

"Pfft… Seed? Like the ones you plant in the ground or eat for nutrition?" the first person, Noel, remarked with a stifled laugh. He glanced at his other two friends and snarked softly, "I can see why they chose that name."

He willed away his sword-combined spear as he turned back to Squall and his team.

"Joking aside, I assume that you guys are not with Sephiroth?"

Squall shook his head.

"No, we aren't."

With that issue settled, Noel gestured for the other male to lower their weapons.

"Wait a minute, you're seriously taking their word for it?" the third person asked worriedly.

Noel cocked an eyebrow, "You got a better idea, Hope? Besides, you wanted someone who knows his way 'round these parts, and clearly this broody man fits the bill more or less, right?"

Squall narrowed his eyes slightly at that remark.

Hope was about to sound a retort, but then he remembered what he said earlier.

"Oh… you got me there," he admitted with a plain shrug, and then he proceeded to put away his boomerangs.

Noel then casted his eyes upon the second male, who was still staring warily at the other group. After a while however, he looked back to him and gave a sharp nod.

Looking back to Squall's team, Noel said in a friendly tone, "And now for introductions. My name's Noel. You've already know Hope's name since I just said it, and the other one's Sazh."

Hope acknowledged Squall and his members with a nod, whilst Sazh greeted them with a casual salute.

"A pleasure," Squall reciprocated with a nod, "Squall Leonhart. I'm the Commander of the elite mercenary force called SeeD. My team members here are just a few of the handful that ever made it to become official members. Selphie Tilmitt, Zell Dincht, Quistis Trepe."

Sazh stared at them longingly before piping up, "Oh, using full names! Well then uh… Sazh Katzroy. I'm an airship pilot."

Squall rolled his eyes out of complete annoyance.

"Whatever…"

Just then, he heard the crackling noises of his walkie-talkie radio picking up.

 _"AVALANCHE to SeeD! Come in SeeD!"_ a male voice shouted from the other end.

Removing the radio from a strap on his belt, Squall pressed the answer button.

"This is SeeD's leader to AVALANCHE. We read you." He reported in.

 _"Ey yo! Leonhart! This is Barret speaking!"_ the person said, _"Have y'all found anyone on your end yet?"_

Squall briefly scanned the caverns for any more signs of stragglers. As far as he could see, Sazh, Hope and Noel were the only ones in the area.

"Affirmative," he replied, "Three individuals. All of them are males. Any luck on your end?"

There was a brief pause on Barret's side.

 _"Not yet, but it looks like our fortunes are about to change. As it happens w_ _e just got word from HQ that they've spotted another group of 'em a few clicks east of your position!"_

Squall was unsatisfied by this statement.

"Define "few clicks"," he pressed critically.

 _"I don't know! Do I look like a geographer to you?!"_

There was a deep sigh from the other man before he continued on in a more calmed manner.

 _"Anyways, we'll inform HQ and the others of your findings, and since our gal can sense everything that's going on 'round, she's probably now pointing Spikey and Tifa to the other stragglers. Unfortunately though the LFTS can't get a good reading on their signatures so-"_

 _"L_ S _TS!"_ another man hollered from the other end.

 _"Yeah yeah, whatever Cid!"_ Barret snapped back to the person in the background, _"Just keep monitoring for any more stragglers!"_

The man called Cid yelled back something unintelligent as he defended his tracking technology, the LSTS.

 _"Ya know what?! I think you oughta have stayed behind with Aerith and that Rinoa gal! Maybe ya could've been combining your tech with their powers instead to pinpoint those people more quickly!"_ Barret snapped at Cid, _"And ya know why I say that?! 'Cause I think your more of a nuisance out here!"_

 _"Someone's gotta make sure my new baby's functioning properly, ya overgrown walking bag of chocobo turd!"_ Cid retorted angrily, _"This is her first time in the field after all, and she's still technically a work-in-progress!"_

"And by work-in-progress, ya mean **PROTOTYPE?!** "

Both men were so caught up in their suddenly flared argument, they had quickly ignored their colleagues on the other hand who were listening on to their never-ending tirade. Judging by how intense it was getting, Squall was even convinced that by the time their rescue mission was over, those two would still be going at it.

"If those two keep at it, I don't think we'd have to worry about Sephiroth at all," Quistis remarked with a soft chuckle, "He'd probably send everything he's got at those two knuckleheads."

"Something tells me Cloud's gonna do more than set them straight once he finds out what's going on over there," Zell added in.

"As the saying goes, "all is fair in love and war"," Selphie piped in from behind Quistis, peeping over her shoulder to hear the ensuing banter.

Squall remained unresponsive as he allowed Barret and Cid's banter to pass by his ears, but in his mind, he was thinking to himself, "AVALANCHE… **Toughest fighter group,** they said… **Easy to work with,** they said…"

With an annoyed sigh, Squall quickly switched off his radio and looked at his team members.

"All that matters now, is that we've found a bunch of 'em," he stated seriously, gesturing with his head to the three men standing in front of them, "And that means we turn tail and report back to base immediately."

"Hang on just a sec!" Noel piped in and stepped forth, "W-What about our other friends?"

"Yeah, we gotta find them! Lightning! Serah! Snow! Vanille!" Hope begged pleadingly.

"My boy..." Sazh mumbled softly to himself, "Dajh..."

Selphie could not help but feel sorry for the man. He sounded so worried and distraught about being separated from his only child.

With sigh and a shake of his head, Squall faced the three of them and stated, "Look. I understand that you guys have got other people somewhere out there, right? We could help you find 'em, but the catch is this area is dangerous territory to be in."

"We know it's dangerous," Hope replied with a nod, "But that doesn't excuse why we can't just continue searching for others."

Selphie took a step forward.

"Well… it's hard to explain… but according to our people back at HQ, it's advisable to not wonder too long in enemy territory be-"

"Because of Sephiroth? Right?" Noel cut in with a light chuckle, as though he had quickly figured out what the short story was.

He folded his arms and started to pace around Squall.

"Because what, he is the self-proclaimed "One-Winged Angel"?"

"You severely underestimate the threat," Squall warned him thinly, his tone suggesting that he was suppressing rising anger, "I've witnessed his ferocity first-hand when he attacked and destroyed my homeworld."

The response that he got were stares that were filled with surprise.

"W-Wait… he did that?" Hope questioned with a look of shock and horror.

Squall stared at him for a brief moment, and then looked away in absolute silence. But his expression spoke in volumes about what he was feeling.

Selphie let out a saddened sigh.

"It just happened out of nowhere. He descended down from the sky like a heavenly angel… and then started to kill everyone that were participating at an annually-held festival. Of course when it comes to danger, SeeD is always at front, center and end of the action. But soon we came to realise, Sephiroth was powerful. _Really_ powerful. Even the sorceress of our world, Rinoa, wasn't able to match up to the powers and forces that Sephiroth held at his fingertips. In the end… we all fell prey to his slaughter… one by one… until only Squall remained. Once he went down as well, there was nothing to stop Sephiroth from killing off the entire planet with a snap of his fingers."

She lifted a hand and snapped her fingers. The sound echoed chillingly across the suddenly silent and stale atmosphere that hung over them.

"… Just like that…" she finished sombrely.

Behind her, Zell and Quistis shifted uncomfortably where they stood, the memories of Sephiroth ripping off their heads from their shoulders still fresh in their minds.

"The only warning we got was from some person claiming to be from another world that was destroyed," Squall suddenly spoke up, but he expression remained indifferent, "Of course she was diagnosed as mentally unstable at the time and we all just shrugged her warnings away."

"Plus, there was also that minute detail that her clothing appeared to be around one or two centuries older than ours," Zell added in.

Squall suddenly glared at him, unhappy that he was rudely interrupted. He quickly backed off with raised hands.

Squall faced Noel, Hope and Sazh and continued.

"The girl was locked up in a mental asylum, and even from there she continued to ramble on about some approaching apocalypse. Most of the world continued on with life as normal, except for one person. A sorceress who I am close friends with. She decided to delve deep into finding out what the girl was talking about and communicated with the energies of time and space. And then she saw him, and the asteroid that he was on that was approaching our world. She set out to warn everyone, but by then… it was too late… Sephiroth had already arrived…"

He folded his arms.

"The irony of warnings, is that they always come from the most unlikely and insane of places. Be they beggars on the streets, or nutjobs holding up signs. Most of them are written off as mere disruptors of peace, but some of them sometimes withhold more than they let on."

Quistis stared down at the ground, albeit with a look of shame and regret.

"We should've at least looked into that girl's warnings."

"This girl… where is she now?" Hope quizzed out of curiosity.

Squall slowly looked away and then sighed softly.

"We met sometime after we arrived on the asteroid, and by then she got her mind fixed up. She accepted our apologies and we mingled for a while. But then one day, she was wandering outside of HQ's safe zone, when one of the Sons attacked and sealed her essence inside of a tiny bottle. He had taken her away by the time we discovered what happened, and we haven't seen her since."

Feeling sympathetic, Noel spoke up genuinely, "Sorry for your loss."

Squall shook his head.

"It's alright. Ever since that incident, SeeD had decided to help out on the asteroid, and we vowed to ensure that no other person suffered the same fate as the girl."

He took a step forward, his features all serious again.

"That is why we have to get you three back. If Sephiroth of the Sons gets their hands on any straggler they find, who knows what they might do to you."

Hope and Sazh looked at one another, and they were slowly starting to agree with Squall's reasoning. But just before either of them could speak up, Noel stated, "No."

Squall narrowed his eyes at him out of astonishment.

"... No?"

"That's right! N-O. _No!_ " Noel said boldly with a shake of his head, "We still got people out there, and they right now they still could be alive and untouched by those spiritual scumbags!"

"Your assumption is irrelevant," Squall stated, back in his normal stoic self once more, "Sephiroth and his children work faster than the high-speed bullet train taking 30 minutes to traverse half-a- continent. Like wolves, if they pick up your scent, they'll be right on your heels within seconds."

"And that's where you guys come in, right?" Noel countered, "After all, you said it yourself that SeeD has vowed to prevent others from being taken by Sephiroth and the Sons! Is finding other stragglers before they do straying too far from your goal?"

"That's where the other teams come in, hotshot," Quistis stated plainly with folded arms, "Why'd you think we were talking with the other team just now? Currently there's three of us out here searching for more of your pals. Spread out at far distances to cover more ground quickly."

"And we were ordered to bring back any straggler we find back to HQ immediately," Squall added in with a nod, "With an extremely powerful god like Sephiroth prowling around somewhere, the risks are just too great."

Noel nodded his head slowly, as though he was seriously taking into consideration Squall's logic.

"Right… we're still going to find our friends anyways," he stated firmly.

Squall stared at him silently for a brief moment before he muttered out, "So be it…"

Within seconds, his gunblade was out again, shocking both his team as well as the three stragglers.

"You will come with us now, or things will start getting more… aggressive," he laid down the final ultimatum, his weapon pointed directly at Hope.

Sazh gulped down a lump in his throat.

"I knew it! We're dead!" he declared with thrown up arms.

"Squall, no! This is not how we're supposed to-" Quistis pleaded to Squall but he shouted back at her, "QUIET!"

In response, Noel summoned back his swords and got into his battle stance.

"Well, I didn't survive time-travelling and Bhunivelze just to lose to a mercenary commander," he commented and combined his swords into a spear.

He pointed it directly in defiance straight at his opponent.

"You have no idea who you're messing with, kid," Squall warned darkly.

Noel scoffed back.

"Funny, I was just about to say the same thing! Let's see how tough you are, broody man!"

Squall let out a short huff and glared at him.

"Gladly," he growled.

Tightening his grip on his gunblade's handle, he charged directly at Noel, who was launching himself right at him. Time slowed down as both men closed the distance between each other, and their blades began slashing out at one another…

Suddenly, there was a burst of blue energy that exploded right between both men.

Crying out in surprise, Noel founded himself being flung backwards by the force of the blast, and he landed right on top of Sazh who tried to clear himself out of harm's way. Squall on the other hand, did a backflip and landed on his knee just in front of his team.

Recovering their bearings, both of them and their friends looked back to see a new stranger who had suddenly appeared at the centre of the junction area. His breaths were rough and erratic, and there was blue smoke escaping from his extremely large blade that was embedded tip-first right into the rocky ground.

Slowly, he got back to his feet from one knee, and he extracted out his sword.

"Enough…" he growled as he turned towards Squall.

With narrowed blue eyes, he admonished, "You were not supposed to antagonise the stragglers, Leonhart."

"They were not complying with us, so I decided to take matters into my own hands," Squall simply replied back with a glower.

 _"Into your own hands?!"_ the man parroted in absolute fury, "Do you realise that you could have attracted unwanted attention from Sephiroth's minions?!"

Before Squall could respond back, Selphie spoke up with a look of shock, "Cloud… there're bruises all over your body!"

And she was right.

All over Cloud's body there were markings of nasty dark marks on his skin. His clothes had also collected patches of dust scattered around.

"Doesn't matter how I got them," he replied with a nonchalant wave of his free hand, "The point now is that I intervened in the nick of time before someone got seriously and unnecessarily injured."

"No really, how did you get them?" Quistis pressed with concern, doubtful of his present condition, "Were you attacked?"

"Yes he was," a female's voice spoke up from Cloud, and everyone turned to acknowledge a young woman striding into the junction.

"We got into a bit of a skirmish with Yazoo and Loz," she explained, and almost instantly everyone's expressions excluding Cloud's and Squall's turned pale.

"Don't worry, we took care of them," she assured with a smile, "They won't be bothering us for a while."

Turning her attention to Sazh, Hope and Noel who had recovered, she said, "You guys are new around here, no?"

Sazh nodded his head.

"More or less, yes."

The woman nodded her head and extended out her hand.

"Tifa Lockhart, but Tifa is good enough."

All three men shook her hand, happy to at least finally greet someone properly.

"But I don't understand," Squall spoke up, "Aerith assured us that that spell of hers would mask our lifeforce from Sephiroth and his Sons. How did they still managed find you two?"

"They didn't," Cloud told him with a frown, "They founded some stragglers."

"More stragglers?!" Hope exclaimed in hopefulness.

If there were more stragglers that were found, it meant more of their friends were already found.

Tifa nodded her head.

"Mmm hmm. We founded them just before the Sons could incapacitate them, and they ran off as Cloud and I held them back."

"W-Where did they go?" Noel asked worriedly.

Letting out a sigh, Tifa had her hands at her hips.

"No idea. Currently we are trying to track them down, and that's when we stumbled upon you guys." She responded with a disappointed shake of her head.

"Hmph. Small world," Squall muttered.

"More like, _small asteroid_ ," Selphie joked, which earned her exasperated glowers from everyone else.

Just then however, there were footsteps that could be heard coming their way. Almost immediately, nearly everyone became alert.

"You guys hearing that too, right?" Sazh muttered worriedly.

"Yazoo and Loz?" Zell asked aloud.

"Unlikely. They should still be down and out," Cloud stated.

And then they could hear a pair of voices that were slowly becoming clearer with each second that passed.

"I see an opening up ahead!" a female voice exclaimed. "Then we'll rest there for a couple of minutes," a male voice replied albeit with a voice of tiredness.

Noel, Hope and Sazh quickly recognised the voices.

"C-Could it be…?" Hope muttered softly, a smile slowly starting to form at his lips.

Tifa sighed with relieved.

"There they are…"

Soon, another trio emerged into the area, a young female teen and an adult man carrying a woman in his arms.

When both of them caught sight of three men that they recognised, they became surprised.

"Sazh! Hope! Noel!" the girl exclaimed happily.

"Vanille! Snow!" Hope cried out, Sazh laughing with joy behind him.

As Snow settled down the woman he was carrying on the ground, Vanille ran over to their other friends, exchanging hugs and shaking hands.

"Glad to see you guys are okay!" Sazh said with relief.

Vanille gave off a plain shrug.

"Eh, we've gotten out of tighter scrapes than this."

"Amen to that!" Hope stated with a grin, but then he noticed Snow who had not moved from his place on the ground, and the unconscious person who he was tending to. His eyes widened when he recognised who she was.

"Fang!" he cried out and ran over to her, his other friends following close behind. They all huddled around Fang as Snow silently continued to monitor her vitals.

"What happened to her?" Noel asked worriedly.

Glancing hesitantly at Snow briefly, Vanille let out a sigh.

"Fang's… been poisoned…" she answered slowly and softly.

The reactions that she got were more or less what she expected.

"C-Come again…?" Sazh muttered to her with widened eyes full of disbelief, "Because I thought I heard you say that Fang's been _poisoned_."

Vanille nodded her head solemnly, her features now suddenly sullen.

"It's true…" was all she could say. Noel, who looked like he was feeling faint all of a sudden, raked a hand through his hair.

"Fucking heck… how did this happen…?" he mumbled softly.

"You can thank Yazoo and Loz for that," Tifa spoke up, which directed all attention her way.

She started walking over to them.

"You guys engaged them earlier, right? Well, sometimes as a defense tactic, the Sons would telepathically inject a lethal dose of Mako into a person's bloodstream. The effects normally shuts down all functions of the body, ranging from seconds to maybe minutes."

"B-But… you said…" Vanille muttered out in a state of panic as Tifa knelt down next to her.

"As I told you earlier Vanille, the dosage given to your friend was more than likely just a droplet or two. Not enough to kill her outright, but just enough to incapacitate her."

"So… they wanted Fang alive?" Hope clarified.

Tifa shook her head.

"Not just her. Keep in mind that Vanille and Snow were also being attacked."

Reaching out with one hand, Tifa checked the forehead first, and then placed two fingers at her neck.

"Hmm… she doesn't have a fever, and her heartbeat is just below the normal pumping range," she diagnosed.

"More or less, she's going to be alright, right?" Vanille asked her anxiously.

Tifa gave her an assuring smile.

"I believe so. Fang is quite a strong person if I'm honest. All we need to do now, is just wake her."

Snow grinned and cracked his knuckles.

"Not physically of course."

He groaned like a child who was denied a chance to go to the zoo.

"We'd probably need Aerith to help restart her systems again," Tifa noted and then turned to Cloud, who gave a sharp nod in agreement.

"Has the third team found anyone else?" Squall spoke up, quickly reminding everyone of SeeD's presence as well in the area.

Cloud shook his head.

"Unfortunately no. But they ought to be somewhere close to where the Arch of Shattered Mirrors is."

"You suspect there are more of us at that place?" Noel asked hopefully.

Maybe Lightning, Serah, Yeul and Dajh were there? They were the only remainder of their friends whom they've not seen yet after all.

Cloud stroked his chin.

"Seems likely. There have been many times where we've founded stragglers wandering around out in the place. But since the Arch is more of a death trap maze, it normally takes us a while to find them."

"And I assume that those guys Barret and Cid are apart of that third team?" Hope asked curiously.

Tifa nodded.

"Yup. Them, as well as our other friends Yuffie, Auron and Locke. You'll see them soon when they report back."

"And that's what we're going to do now," Cloud stated, "We report back to HQ immediately, and this time there shall be no argu – ARGH!",

He suddenly fell to his knees, and his hands were clutching tightly at his own head.

Alerted by this, Tifa hopped to her feet and raced over to him.

"Cloud! Are you okay?!" she asked worriedly as she gripped him at his arm and shoulder.

"Ugh… he's found me… I can feel him… the power..." Cloud growled in agony, "He's trying to wrest control… of my mind…"

Tifa felt her heart drop slightly, for she knew who that certain "he" that her childhood friend was referring to. Remembering what had happened the first time Cloud had been brainwashed into doing something against his will, she resolved to ensure that a second time would never happen.

Acting quickly, she produced a glass ball from her pocket – it was light-grey in its plain design. Lifting up Cloud's arm, she inserted the orb right into his arm.

Wait, it was going into his arm?!

Everyone else was looking in tense surprise and shock at what was happening, as the glow of the sphere branched out from Cloud's arm and started to encompass his entire body. After a few seconds, the glow disappeared, and Cloud was starting to calm down.

"There you go…" Tifa breathed with relief and she patted his back gently, "You're okay now…"

Letting loose shaky breaths, Cloud slowly regained his composure as Tifa helped him to his feet.

"I'm going to feel that in the morning…" he mumbled softly as he dusted himself off.

Looking to Tifa, he muttered out, "We gotta move now. He knows we're here."

Taken aback at first, Tifa slowly gave him a curt nod.

"Man… w-what just happened?" Noel asked with a gaping mouth.

"I'll explain everything later," Tifa responded seriously once she made sure Cloud was okay, "Right now we have to move."

"Move?!" Sazh questioned, "But what about the other team?"

"They can take care of themselves," Cloud stated, "Just like we're taking care of our own."

Picking up his sword and lifting it over his shoulder, he began marching off.

"Sephiroth knows that we're here, and he's now probably sending out Devil Wolves as we speak. Either we get back to base now, or we all get captured."

"Devil Wolves?" Vanille asked aloud with a hint of curiosity on her face.

Cloud glanced to her with pursed lips.

"The most foul of corrupted beasts to ever serve Sephiroth," he explained grimly, "Once they're let loose of their leash, they can pick up on a scent and track their prey down within mere minutes."

As he went past Squall and his team, Zell muttered out to his Commander, "Y'know, sir? I think we'd better listen to him."

Squall inwardly made an exasperated sigh.

"Sure, no one listens to me. But to Cloud Strife?" he thought to himself as he turned and started heading off after the blonde, the rest of his team following close behind.

Tifa turned back to see the stragglers still huddling together around Fang, pretending as though there was no danger heading their way.

"C'mon you guys. We have to get back now," she told them firmly, "If Sephiroth gets his hands on any of you, there's nothing much we can do."

"But our other remaining friends…" Hope mumbled softly in protest, and Tifa could see the sense of worry radiating from his eyes.

Knowing that they had no time for arguments, she brisked her way over to them and said, "Hey, don't worry. We still have one more team out there. I'm certain they'll find your friends before Sephiroth can?"

"You sure 'bout that?" Sazh clarified worriedly, "Because my boy's out there too."

Tifa gave him an assuring smile.

"Don't worry. My friends are some of the toughest people I have ever fought with, be it they are from my world, or any other world. We'd be damned if we could not save even a single one of your friends. So don't lose hope, alright?"

And with that, she turned and started heading off.

Vanille took one glance at Fang's unconscious body, and then at Snow.

"Well? What do we do now?" she pressed.

Snow fell silent for a solitary moment, before he responded with a curt nod. He bended down and carefully picked Fang before he started to brisk after Tifa.

Slowly, the rest started to follow, resuming their journey into the great unknown.

* * *

 **Looks like there's bit of chemistry going on amongst the rescuers, which is probably normal for them, but also unhealthy cosidering that Sephiroth would exactly want that.**

 **The following chapter will brings us back to Lightning as she braves the danger of the Arch of Shattered Mirrors.**


	6. Lightning Strikes Twice

**_"With that being said, we too must depart again."_**

 **She watched as he walked slowly over to where she was on the ground. Laid out like a victim after a mauling by a million Cactuars. Her blue eyes were gazing deep into his piercing green eyes, those cat-slit pupils. She saw no traces of sympathy or basic humanity.**

 ** _"Truly you are a worthy opponent, Miss Farron. You will make for a fine follower when I establish a brand new world."_**

 **He raised a hand, and then suddenly the surface of the asteroid began to glow.**

 ** _"I'd advise you to hold still. Don't worry. You won't feel a thing."_**

 **There was a swoosh of a blade... Nothing...**

With a loud gasp, Lightning aroused to full alertness and sat right up.

As she let loose shaky breaths that escaped from her open lips, she started to feel around the part of her body that Sephiroth struck her at. When she felt no pain, no blood stain from her neck area, she breathed deeply with relief. And then she quickly backtracked for a moment.

"I'm... still... alive...?" she wondered aloud to herself out of utter confusion.

She took into another deep breath, and quietly felt the air reaching down into her lungs and refreshing them. It was enough to confirm her answer. If she could breath air properly and normally, then she was still alive and well. But then another question popped into her mind. Why?

Sephiroth killed her; she felt herself being wrapped in death's cold embrace. And yet here she was, laying on the ground, surrounded by crystal-encrusted walls that mirrored shattered mirrors. Literally.

Looking up ahead, she also noticed an overhanging arch that resembled some ancient-looking interior ceiling.

Speaking of which, where the hell was she anyway? Aside from Sephiroth, she also recalled that Serah had been...

"Serah!" Lightning gasped out in sheer terror and she shot up to her feet.

She started to scan around her surrounding area, only to find that there was no else that was near her position. She was on her own. And then it hit her.

She remembered that Serah had been sent off from the asteroid by Vanille by the time Sephiroth killed her.

Sighing out in calmed relief, Lightning thought to herself, "Serah... I hope you're doing okay out there, wherever you are..."

At least a part of her was hopeful that her sister was at least still alright where she was. It was the only thing that she as Serah's older sister could do now, now that Sephiroth had stepped into the picture to muck everything up. After all, he was the one who was responsible for ending all hopes of reaching the New World.

It was because of him, every single person who had lived on Pulse by the time it ended, was now dead. Leaving behind only Serah, and Lightning herself as perhaps the remaining survivors.

It was no longer important why she was brought back to life. She clearly was special enough to be needed for something, although what that 'something' was, she still could not say.

But Lightning shook that thought out of her mind, for she now needed to figure out where the hell she was. She started to head down a pathway which had an uneven-looking landscape and decorated with all sorts of crystallised rocks and stones.

But as she soon founded out, ascertaining an exit was like finding a needle in a haystack. Correction, it felt more like a large maze. Eventually, the path she was on ended at a junction, where she noted the different branches that she could follow. But it was at that point that Lightning founded the going getting tougher.

The paths that she chose to follow always had a random chance of coming across a dead end, so she whenever she did come across one, she would be forced to turn back and try another one. The process was never-ending and it stretched on forever. But that did not stop Lightning from continuing onwards. She knew that in a dangerous place like Sephiroth's abode, there was no avenue for lamenting or complaining. For all that she knew, the god himself might be watching her every movement, so Lightning had to keep moving so as to not be viewed as weak.

She also darted her eyes about to survey her environment, just in case Sephiroth had left a couple of nasty surprises waiting for her.

Lightning made a terrible mistake underestimating Sephiroth's might and overestimating her limits, something that she vowed would never happen a second time. Again and again she had to constantly remind herself that she no longer had the powers of either the Knight of Etro or the Savior. Both became pretty much obsolete when Pulse was destroyed, and they could never ever return without the planetary source, that was Gran Pulse.

Long story short, Lightning was essentially a normal person again pre-Fal'Cie, just a regular soldier woman who had joined the Guardian Corps just so she could...

"No..." she muttered to herself as she struggled to push away that painful memory, "That's ancient history now... I can't look back..."

Just then, something at the corner of her eyes catches her attention.

Lightning halted in her pacing and slowly glanced to her right, in the direction of a crystal that was sprouted from the rock like a tree. It dwarfed her by about a few inches to a feet, but that was not what's caught her gaze.

Upon the gleaming surface, she could make out a rough reflection of herself... and then she noticed her outfit.

With raised eyebrows, Lightning took slow steps towards the reflection to get a closer look. It was no secret that her eyes were no playing tricks on her.

Her clothes looked... familiar... but she still chanced a watchful glance down at her outfit to inspect it.

Gone were the garbs that she had been 'gifted' by Bhunivelze when she became the Savior. Every trace of that bastard had been replaced. She noted the green metallic pauldron over her left shoulder bearing yellow stripes, and the black case that hung off her belt.

It took her no less than five seconds to recognise what she was donning. Staring back at her reflection, Lightning let out a small huff.

 _"How long has it been since I looked like this..."_

She twisted her body around slightly left and right as she inspected herself.

"Never thought I'd be happier to see me like this again," Lightning commented with a thin smile.

Even though the Guardian Corps was technically now defunct, her uniform was all that was left of it. Once a symbol of attention and conformity, it was now a sign of Lightning's individuality and normality.

Lightning could not deny the number of painful events she had experienced through in the past while donning this uniform. From her animosity with Snow, to that fight with her sister on her twenty-first birthday. From her desire to gain personal affection, to saving Serah and destroying Cocoon.

As much as those memories were painful to relive in her mind, Lightning still embraced them anyhow. They were keepsakes and reminders of her past failures before, during and after the Fal'Cie crisis, for her to continue learning from.

After everything that she had been through, Lightning learned that failure was ironically the greatest teacher given to living beings by life. Which meant that going forward, she would have to set aside past squabbles and grudges, and place greater faith in those that she cared about. That coincidentally, also included her beloved baby sister Serah, who was now braving a whole new world. Literally.

While she was not certain that trying to help a world fight off Sephiroth would mean that it would survive in the end, Lightning understood that life was still worth fighting for. If only there was someway she could teleport over to wherever Serah was, than she could probably even things out a little against Sephiroth... maybe.

She had already seen the destruction of her own homeworld, and Lightning would be damned if she saw another succumb to its own doom at Sephiroth's hands. Serah would need all the help she could get, and Lightning intended to do just that, as her sister.

 ** _If everything's a dream... don't wake me..._**

Lightning jumped slightly and she spun around with full alarm.

"W-Who's there?!" she demanded strictly, her eyes darting about in every conceivable direction. There was nobody around as far as she could see. She was the only one around in the area.

 ** _...wait for me. I'll be back..._**

She turned around again, as she tried to ascertain where the voices were coming from.

"What in the world...?" she muttered softly to herself, "Those voices..."

 ** _Oh, what an easy life it must be, just to follow orders..._**

Urging herself to keep moving, Lightning started to trek on forwards. She chose to remain silent as the voices continued to faintly whisper all around her.

 ** _...Sis... I'm...all alone. But I'm doing my best..._**

 ** _There's a connection... Everything is connected... I can feel it..._**

 ** _I am only sitting here today because everyone came together as a team..._**

 ** _You've become just a memory..._**

 ** _Every blitzer knows: when you got the ball, you gotta score...!_**

 ** _... there ain't no gettin' offa this train we're on, till we get to the end of the line..._**

 ** _I trust them all with my life...! To have so many guardians is a joy, and an honour...!_**

 ** _You don't need a reason to help people..._**

 ** _This... is your story... It all begins here..._**

"Where are they coming from?" Lightning wondered aloud as she continued to push on.

For certain, those voices were unrecognisable, so she had to assume they belonged to people she had never met before in her life. To an extent, perhaps individuals who never originated from her world at all.

It also brought to her a sudden harrowing thought.

Besides just her people, how many others did Sephiroth kill? How many other worlds did Sephiroth attacked before he attacked them? How long had he been travelling across the universe, just so he could fulfill his so-called Promised Land?

He must have been spending an eternity wandering the endless reaches of time and space, seizing opportunities as they came, to assimilate millions, perhaps billions of souls into his collective as he had claimed. The voices echoing all around her must probably be all that was left of his victims.

And then she came to a startling realisation. If those voices belonged to his victims...

"This must be some sort of sick trophy room..." she muttered out of disgust, and her narrowed at the entire area.

Her heart felt wracked for the imprisoned souls that were wandering endlessly through the asteroid. A fate that was excruciatingly worse than death.

 _"Why are you feeling so sad, Miss Farron?"_ a familiar, cruel voice suddenly voiced out amongst the whispers, and Lightning came to a halt.

Recognising who it was, she positioned herself in defense and stared to scan the uneven landscape for him.

 _"Why weep for poor unfortunate souls that are not even there?"_

"Show yourself!" Lightning demanded angrily, but the response she got was a soft, dark chuckle that echoed all around her.

She struggled to fight back against that chill that was slowly creeping down her spine. In the face of another god, Lightning would never show any signs of fear or hesitation.

 _"All in due time, my child,"_ Sephiroth intoned, _"Although I will apologise for not being there at the Arch of Shattered Mirrors to greet you. Currently I have other matters to attend to."_

"Oh? And what's so important that a god has little time for me?" Lightning snapped back, and she made sure her taunt had at least kept his attention on her.

There was a moment of stilled silence, and she was starting to think that Sephiroth had already turned his focus to somewhere on his asteroid. And then he finally broke his silence.

 _"My matters are my own business. It should not be of any concern by the likes of you..._ Claire _."_

Lightning stiffened her back slightly, and her mouth slightly gaped out of instinct.

 _"Yes... your_ true _name, is it not?"_ Sephiroth taunted her. He clearly was watching her from somewhere.

 _"The thing about trying to cover up who you once were with only so many layers... is that sooner or later, they will start to tear and fall off... like petals of a dying flower."_

Suddenly, pools of darkness suddenly appeared all around her on the ground, and monsters of all shapes and forms began to spring up from them. Amongst all of the creatures she was encountering, Lightning noted a recognisable few. A Jabberwocky, two Hedge Frogs, and a Munchkin – only except they look far deadlier and more terrifying, like something out of a child's nightmare. The rest she had never seen before, but clearly she had no time to take down notes.

 _"My minions should be enough company for you in my absence,"_ Sephiroth spoke out in a conceited tone, _"Play nice with them until I come for you, Miss Farron."_

With the final words being said, his monsters began charging right at her. At the same time, Lightning quick extended out her hand, intending to summon Overture.

But this time, her gunblade did not materialise, and Lightning became shocked and confused by this.

The growls however turned her attention away from that problem back to the immediate threat, and Lightning barely managed to dodge-roll out of the way before she got clawed by one of the monsters.

Her thoughts and mind were in a blur as she continued spending the next few minutes evading every attack that came her way. And when Lightning checked to see that her other arsenal were gone, she suspected that the sudden disappearance of her weapons was not an accident.

"Looks like he wasn't kidding when he said to play nice," she grumbled softly to herself and she jumped to one side as another beast struck out at her.

Quite odd of Sephiroth to do something like this, even though he was a god who would deem a incompetent mortal like her lesser compared to his might.

Perhaps maybe he wanted to make a plaything out of her for his 'pets', to condemn her an eternity to this insufferable role until the Promised Land. Or maybe he wanted to test her, to see if she could endure and survive this dangerous place without even breaking. After all, he had mentioned that she had managed to stand well on her own before against his attacks, even though it was just for a few minutes.

Either way, Lightning knew that without her weapons, she was severely overpowered in her current situation. And while her hand-to-hand combat skills were just a few points below top notch, she knew that they were useless against a group of feral beasts that were doing the bidding of their god.

Eventually, she founded herself being backed against the wall, and her eyes stared down the bared fangs and teeth of the nightmarish monsters. But instead of silently giving into the fear that was threatening to spill all over her mind, Lightning continued to show absolute defiance.

What was a bunch of monsters compared to what she had faced before? Heck, she would be damned if she allowed herself to be killed again, by a bunch of pea-brained animals.

Clenching her balled fists tightly, Lightning got into a boxer's pose.

"Come and get it," she growled through gritted teeth.

Almost immediately the monsters began pouncing right at her, and Lightning reared back her hand to prepare delivering the first strike.

But then out of the blue, the sound of gunshots began to thunder out loud, and then as Lightning watched, the monsters began reeling back as they were peppered by an unending onslaught of bullets. Unable to cope with the agony of holes being ripped into their flesh, the minions turned tail and galloped a short distance away.

From them, Lightning's gaze turned in the direction of the flying bullets, and saw as a dark-skinned burly man charged right after the monsters in pursuit, holding out what appeared to be a mechanical machine gun that was built into his right arm.

"C'mon ya fools! Let's give 'em some!" he hollered behind him as he continued heading onwards past Lightning, who was suddenly staring in bewilderment at the mechanical right arm.

Before she could even question how it was even possible, she heard the voice of a female cry out, "Geez Barret! Wouldn't it kill you to slow down a bit?!"

A young woman, probably a teenager, stopped short just in front of Lightning, and she was bending over to rest her hands on her thighs.

She wore a white headband with a green, sleeveless turtleneck jumper that bared her stomach and a pair of tan shorts with no belt and an unbuttoned/unzipped fly.

"And now you know how I feel whenever no one listens to my advice," a young man drawled out with a shake of his head as he stepped up right beside his colleague.

He wore a blue vest and trousers with a white shirt, had light brown hair a blue bandanna that was rolled into a headband, and had a short sash that belted his trousers. He also donned brown gloves.

"Excuse me for thinking that you're not a pirate, Locke," the girl replied back as she looked to him, "Oh wait, you ARE a _pirate_!"

Locke rolled his eyes in exasperation, "For the last time, Yuffie, it's _treasure hunter_."

"Pirates also hunt for treasure!" Yuffie countered back.

Locke made a wry grin, "Hmph, then that makes two of us."

Yuffie straightened herself and let out a forced laugh.

"Hah! Joke's on you, 'cause I am the Wutai Ninja!" she stated boldly.

"Oh really?" Locke titled his head and folded his arms, "Failed escapes via smoke bombs, terrible stealth skills... you really make for one heck of a ninja."

Before Yuffie could make a retort, she felt something being shoved into her arms.

As she looked down at the four-pointed shuriken in her possession – her own weapon, Locke stated to her, "And next time, carry your own weapon because again, I'm a treasure hunter, not a walking weapons cache."

Drawing out his dual daggers from his sash, he started to brisk towards to aid Barret in holding the creatures back, ignoring Yuffie's demands for him to come back. Letting out an angered huff, the Wutai Ninja twirled her shuriken gracefully before she raced forward into the fray.

All the while, Lightning continued to look on in complete silence, with mixed reactions regarding what was going on; confusion topped her other emotions. Despite the fact that she felt deliberately ignored, Lightning chose not to dwell on it, considering that she was seeing that there were more people that were still alive.

"Are you alright?" a male voice questioned her.

Lightning turned around to acknowledge a middle-aged man who was approaching her.

He wore a red robe closed with a black and blue strap with two brown belts wrapped around it. His left arm into the front of his robe, making it look as though his arm was in a sling. The man also donned a black armored gauntlet on his right hand, and an armor brace on his left forearm.

But the one aspect of his appearance that screamed awkward to Lightning the most, was the fact that he was wearing black sunglasses – a more modernised accessory that contrasted his more traditional-looking garb.

"Peculiar fashion sense," she noted thoughtfully in her mind.

Then remembering that he had asked her a question, she quickly opened her mouth to respond in turn.

"No scratches," she stated with a small nod.

The man hummed back.

"I apologise if my colleagues appear to be less interested in you for the moment."

He gestured with his head to the ongoing fight between the monsters and the members of his team.

"As a matter of fact, your team couldn't have arrived at a better time," Lightning replied, "I have been deprived of any weapon to handle these things myself."

When the man raised an eyebrow at this, she clarified, "Sephiroth."

"Hmm... I see..." the man muttered with a stroke of his chin, "So she was right..."

Lightning was confused by his musing statement.

"Who was right?" she questioned.

The man shook his head.

"Never mind, it's not important. All that matters is that we've found you."

With his free hand, he reached into his robe.

"Think you can use this?" he asked her as he pulled out something for Lightning to see. It was a gunblade, but unlike her original one, this one's design looked a lot less advanced in comparison.

"Hmph... it's better than nothing..." she mused thoughtfully to herself.

Glancing back at the man, she gave him a sharp nod. The man reciprocated the nod and handed her the gun.

"We'll escort you back to our base of operations once the Ravages have been dealt with," he stated.

"Ravages?" Lightning asked inquisitively.

The man gestured to the monsters a couple of feet away.

"Those things. Creatures of Sephiroth."

He turned around and brisked back to where he came from earlier, to pick up a wide-bladed katana that had been planted into the ground. He hoisted it over his shoulder and brisked back to Lightning.

"My name is Auron." he introduced himself.

Lightning nodded back.

"Lightning."

The response she got was a questioning cocked eyebrow. Sounds about what she had expected.

"Weird name, I know," she muttered with a sigh, "Let's just get on with this."

Grunting in agreement, Auron refocused on the monsters in front of them.

"Stay close to us, and we should be done with this in a few minutes," he instructed briefly and began racing forwards into the fray.

Stalling behind for a short moment, Lightning lamented to herself, "Oh sure... first taking down a god, and now I'm taking orders again..."

She played around with her weapon to get a feel of its quality. To her surprise, the blade was light-weighted and balanced for the most part, in spite of its indefinite design and appearance.

"Huh... how about that?" she commented with slight impressiveness.

Turning her attention to Auron and his teammates that were busy continuously engaging the Ravages, she shot off forwards in a sprint.

Up ahead, Barret was continuing to spray out bullets from his prosthetic machine gun arm non-stop, which kept three monsters at bay by about twenty feet.

"Ya want a piece of ol' Barret and his merry men?!" he taunted the Ravages with a widened grin, "Then too bad 'cause you're only gettin' consolation gifts!"

"Since when am I a 'merry man'?" Locke questioned from behind him as he and Yuffie took on the Jabberwocky.

"You'll get used to it!" Yuffie stated and she tossed her shuriken right at the monster's face.

The spinning weapon embedded itself right in the Bandersnatch's right cheek, and it now stuck out like a syringe in a person's back.

With quick agility, Yuffie leapt onto its head and forcefully removed her shuriken from its flesh. The only result that came from it was a loud howl of agony from the Jabberwocky as he shook his head furiously that caused Yuffie to stumble and fall off from his noggin.

She acted quickly and did a backflip mid-fall, and she landed on her feet with relative ease.

Racing back to Locke's side, she further added, "Barret also addresses his comrades like that! Amongst other terms that I won't go into since they're only used when he's really-"

"DUCK!" Locke suddenly cried out and he rolled out of the way of a wild swipe of the Jabberwocky's paw.

Yuffie squealed out in fright as she quickly ducked onto the floor, the claws barely nicking her on the back.

Quickly hopping onto her feet, she quickly re-joined at Locke's side and remarked albeit terrified, "That was close..."

She felt on her back a couple of stings, and a slight dampening of her shirt.

Locke peeked behind to notice droplets of blood trickling out of thin scratches. The injury did not look too serious, but his partner needed to be at a hundred percent.

He casted Cure on the Wutai Ninja, who let out a soft sigh at the rejuvenating sensation.

"Ah... so much better..." she murmured with a satisfied look.

"Glad to see that you're happy, but if I could draw your attention back to this guy..." Locke stated and pointed a thumb to the Jabberwocky, who now had a profusely-bleeding gash on his cheek, "I think you just made him angrier..."

Yuffie's smiled dropped once she heard the Jabberwocky snarl with bared teeth.

"Oh... right..." she muttered with a nervous chuckle to the monster, "So sorry..."

"Why're ya talkin' to that thing?!" Barret hollered back from behind them, "It's not rocket science! Ya see a monster, ya KILL it!"

Before Locke or Yuffie could do anything else, there was a blur motion as Auron swopped in and deliver a slash of his sword that left a large wound at the Jabberwocky's neck.

Wheezing wildly from the loss of air in its lungs, the monster sputtered out in harsh coughs before it finally suffocated. As Auron twirled his sword and slung on his shoulder, the Jabberwocky collapsed to the side lifelessly. He then glanced at Yuffie who was staring agape at the corpse.

Letting out a sigh of annoyance, he turned to Locke and asked, "How are we fairing?"

Locke folded his arms.

"With the Jabberwocky down and out, that only leaves us with... only one down."

"And the other ones?"

"Barret's currently holding back three of the rest. The others fell back some distance away."

Auron's eyebrows furrowed.

"Then we've a long way to go – which is something that's not going to work in our favor. Sephiroth could refocus on this place at any moment."

"Well then we have to do something about that, now don't we?" Lightning called in from behind him, and Locke turned his curious eyes towards her.

Upon first glance, he immediately felt gobsmacked based on her appearance alone. Yuffie who was now looking at Lightning as well was as equally as surprised by her looks alone, and perhaps a little bit jealous.

"This is Lightning," Auron introduced her to his colleagues, and then he faced Lightning, "These here are two of my team members, Locke and Yuffie."

"Greetings," Locke acknowledged with a wave of his hand, albeit with a dramatic flair.

Yuffie placed her hands at her hips.

"You're name is 'Lightning'?"

Lightning glanced at her and gave a small nod.

"As in, like those flashy bolts in the sky during a storm?" Yuffie questioned further.

"... Yes..." Lightning responded, her voice implied she was somewhat mixed in-between awkwardness and irritation by the young female's need for clarification.

Yuffie gave out a sharp laugh.

"Another someone who uses a weather term for a name! Just like someone I know!"

Suddenly, the loud holler of Barret brought all of their attention to him, and they watched as he raced towards them with a look of sheer terror.

Stopping just at arm's length of Locke, he whirled on him and Yuffie and screamed his head off.

"WHERE THE HELL WERE YA TWO?! Y'ALL WERE SUPPOSED TO BE BACK ME UP AND DRIVE 'EM BASTARDS BACK!"

He then turned to Auron and pointed a finger at him.

"AND WHAT TOOK YA SO LONG!"

He then turned to Lightning.

"AND YA... wait a minute, the hell are ya?"

Lightning stared at him dumbfounded for a brief moment.

"... Lightning..."

Barret frowned a little and commented, "Aw great, just great! Another person who uses a weather term as a name."

"Okay, seriously, what is it with everyone questioning about my name?" Lightning asked aloud with grating confusion to the others.

Barret eyebrows went a little higher up.

"And she sounds like Spikey too!"

"Because it sounds a lot weirder than cool," Locke responded with an awkward look.

Lightning frowned slightly.

"And Yuffie's name doesn't sound made-up?"

Yuffie took offense to that and stepped forth.

"Hey! See here now, sister! Where I come from that name is extremely sacred and holy!"

"No it isn't..." Barret muttered softly and lightly shook his head.

Her irritation slowly reaching a boiling point, Lightning nearly growled out, "We're getting off topic here. Where are the rest of the monsters at?"

Quickly reminded of the danger at hand, Barret pointed down in the direction he came from, and he paled when he saw a stampede heading their way.

The rest followed his gaze, and each one of them had different reactions to the oncoming monsters.

Auron and Locke readied themselves for a fight, whilst Yuffie took a few steps further behind, gulping hard as she did so. Barret meanwhile quickly shook off his anxiety and brought on his angry face as he primed his machine gun arm at the Ravages.

"Alrighty! Looks we're gonna need tight coordination to take out all of these sons of bitches!" he yelled to his comrades, "Auron, you're our heaviest hitter! You'll take on the Behemoth and the Grendel! Yuffie, Locke, you'll back me up and take on the Hornets! Lightning, since I don't know ya yet, how's 'bout you bring up the rear and-"

"STOPGA!" Lightning's voice suddenly screamed aloud, causing everyone to jump.

Barret turned around to glower at her.

"I'm so sorry, do ya have a prior objection?" he asked her sweetly in a sarcastic way, "Because if you do, then would ya mind voicing it out instead of INTERRUPTING ME?!"

Lightning acted as though she had not heard him and started to step towards the monsters, her gunblade tightly gripped in the palm of her hand.

Barret stared at her dumbfoundedly and yelled out, "Oi! Ya suddenly became deaf or somethin'?! I said stay in formation!"

"Uh, Barret?" Yuffie suddenly spoke up, and the burly man spun to her.

"What Yuffie?!" he demanded angrily.

The Wutai Ninja's response was not in terms of vocality nor eye contact, instead she slowly raising a hand and pointing a finger directly at the monsters.

This earned her an exasperated growl from her comrade.

"Yes, I know that the Ravages are in that direction, Yuffie!" he affirmed in annoyance, "But unfortunately Spikey wannabe here clearly needs to clean the cobwebs from her eardrums!"

He looked back to Lightning and shouted, "Ya hear that, ya bitch?! Get back here right now or I'll..."

He finally realised that something was wrong, especially with Sephiroth's minions. Although they were still quite a distance away, he noticed that their motion seemed... suddenly static. He blinked his eyes once, and then a second time. They were not lying to him when he saw that the monsters had suddenly frozen where they were. _Frozen_.

And then he recalled back to a few seconds ago when Lightning shouted something. Immediately he realised that she was not interrupting him impolitely; she was casting a spell!

There was loud cough from in front and he and the others looked towards Lightning, who was slightly glancing back at them with an unamused frown.

Turning back her attention to the frozen monsters, Lightning twirled her blade slightly before she leapt forwards. Back and forth, left and right, she began attacking and slashing at all of the beasts in their helpless state, and as the seconds wore on, her speed gradually gained momentum until she was nothing but a blur to the rest of the team.

Within a minute, Barret and his teammates saw nothing but a light show of frenzied blows and acrobatic agility. And then finally, the attacks came to an end with a cast of a powerful Thundaga that sent electric currents streaking all over the frozen monsters.

Lightning then suddenly appeared right in front of them, her armed hand extended out, her body in a knelt-down position.

Yuffie's eyes widened with somewhat fear at the electricity that was trickling around the metallic surface of the gunblade Lightning was holding.

Slowly getting back up and brushing excessive dust off from her arms and legs, she declared darkly to the rest of them, "Now you know why I'm Lightning."

She raised her free hand and snapped her fingers.

Instantaneously, the devastating injuries suddenly appeared all over the bodies of the monsters, and all of them barely even managed to let out a roar.

Within a second or two, every single one of them collapsed down onto the ground, with limbs dissected and organs spilling out freely. Barret's team continued to stare on at the aftermath of a one-woman massacre, whilst Lightning formed a smirk of pride at her handy work and the reactions of the others.

Slowly, Barret turned to her, his eyes as wide as saucers, and then he slowly opened his mouth.

"I take back what I said 'bout ya, girl," he muttered in absolute wonder, "You're clearly on a different level from Spikey."

"Hmph. So it would seem," Lightning responded with folded arms.

After a few minutes of complete and total silence, she then started to question, "Seriously, couldn't you guys have done something like that earlier?"

"Never thought about it," Locke stated with a plain shrug, "After all, we were in the middle of a fight against these guys, and trust me when I say some of them are formidable."

"Yeah, and it's not every day that we see someone who can take down a Behemoth in just one frickin' second..." Yuffie commented, her wary eyes still trained on the pink-hair, "Even the best fighter we know only managed to bring one down in seven minutes."

"Behemoth? You mean the one with the horns?" Lightning asked curiously.

Auron nodded his head with a hum.

"Hmm. Why do you ask?"

"Well... it's just that the Behemoths where I come from look... different," Lightning explained with a plain shrug.

"Really?" Yuffie asked curiously, "What do they look like on your world?"

"Well, for one thing they certainly lack those large pair of horns," Lightning described with folded arms, "And some of them have mechanical parts. Used by PSICOM as their main tank weapons."

"PSICOM?" Barret questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Lightning's eyes narrowed in absolute disgust, recalling the bastards that had started all of her troubles to begin with.

"The main military force on my homeworld. They were responsible for the deaths of millions of innocents."

Upon hearing a certain phrase at the end of her sentence, Barret and Yuffie shared a knowing glance at each other, and Locke looked visibly bothered.

This did not go unnoticed by Lightning who asked, "Anything the matter you guys?"

She saw how much of a emotional effect her words had on the three teammates.

Barret shook his head and replied back, "It's nothin' Pinky. Nothin' that we want ya to be concerned about at all."

Lightning quirked an eyebrow questionably at the nickname he was giving her.

Pinky? Now that was just plain rude of Barret!

Yet at the same time, she could hear the sullen tone that dripped out of his mouth. She did not need to press further into what was troubling him, Yuffie and Locke; she was probably already suspected why they were suddenly feeling that way.

Wherever the three of them came from individually, there was also some form of large forces that they also had to contend with, similar to how she fought against PSICOM during the whole Purge dilemma that they idiodically caused. After all, oppressive forces always perform the most cowardice of actions no matter how big or small, no matter how different they are on different worlds. They all acted the same way.

So on a mutual level, Lightning could sympathise with them. And yet there was still so much she did not know about these other oppressive forces. Were they just like PSICOM? Did they have beliefs that were similar in structure?

For certain Lightning knew that she still had a lot to learn about lives beyond her own world.

"I apologise if I am cutting into the moment," Auron interjected, "But may I bring everyone back to the main issue at hand?"

Lightning nodded her head.

"Indeed. To start off, how in the world did you guys managed to find me?"

Barret snapped out of his dark thoughts and cleared his throat.

"We were positioned just outside of the Arch when our main man Cid suddenly picked up a strong biosignature from inside this place through his LFTS," he explained.

"L **S** TS!" Yuffie piped up.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Barret snapped at her then turned back to Lightning.

"While he wasn't certain of the precise coordinates, he told of the part of the Arch where you would be situated in," he continued, "Lo and behold, you were about a few flicks from south entrance of the Maze, and we had to take a while to navigate 'round that damned place to get to ya. We only managed to gain tracks once we heard ya conversing with Sephiroth, and then later with those Ravages that he sent."

"And with impeccable timing too," Locke noted with a nod, "You almost became lunch for those savages."

"And for that, I appreciate the assist," Lightning responded with a thankful smile.

Barret grinned widely.

"Good! Now that everyone's gotten to know one another, how's 'bout we split from this place and return to HQ?"

"Yeah, I can't wait to get back and hit the hay!" Yuffie exclaimed with a stretch of her arms, "Seriously, all of these rescue ops are giving me a serious migraine!"

"Rescue op?" Lightning asked in confusion.

"We have been sent out to rescue newcomers like yourself before Sephiroth or his Sons can apprehend them." Auron explained, "We are one of three teams out here."

"Newcomers? Does that mean that..." Lightning thought softly to herself.

Could it be possible that her other friends were in the process of being rescued? She hoped that they were, presuming that Sephiroth was referring to them when he mentioned of having more pressing matters to attend to.

Removing a walkie-talkie from the pocket of his shirtless jacket, Barret turned it on and switched it over to a specific radio channel frequency.

As soon as he received a signal from the other end, he spoke loudly into it, "Barret to Cid! Come in Cid!"

Within seconds the voice of his comrade shouted back from the other end.

 _"Whaddya want now ya pillock?"_ Cid growled out, _"Wanna insult my beloved LSTS again?"_

Barret groaned softly to himself in exasperation.

 _"We've founded the straggler; no others found in the vicinity!"_ he reported, _"Beam us outta here!"_

There was a sigh from the other side.

 _"Whatever ya want, Big Dog... Lifestream teleportation in T-minus twenty seconds."_

Switching off his radio and stuffing back into his jacket, Barret turned to the others and nodded.

"Y'all better brace yourselves," he informed them, especially Lightning, "It's gonna be a bumpy ride!"

Lightning stared at him in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

Barret stared at her slightly and then turned to Yuffie.

"Hold onto her tightly!" he ordered the Wutai Ninja who quickly ran over to grip at Lightning's wrist.

As Lightning stared at her, Yuffie managed a small but nervous grin.

"Hope you're mentally strong," she muttered weakly, "Because I'm not..."

Before Lightning could respond, there was a sudden flash of green that covered her entire world. And all at once she saw her life flash before her eyes.

The deaths of her parents.

Her fight with Serah on her twenty-first birthday.

Being branded a Fal'Cie.

Becoming Etro's Champion.

Her battle with Caius in Valhalla.

Becoming the Savior.

Her battle against Bhunivelze.

Her hopeless fight with Sephiroth...

Past thoughts also began to resurface in her mind, many of them were negative and dark.

And then as quickly as the memories came, they disappeared and Lightning suddenly founded herself in an entirely different location. It took her quite a while to get her thoughts in order and her mind straight, to replant herself in the present and not in the past.

Once she had regained her composure, Lightning started to take a look around. Right now she appeared to be in a cavern of sorts, with crystals and gems lighted in green sticking out from the walls.

If she were not in a perilous situation at the moment, she might have chosen to marvel at the beauty before her.

"About damn time you guys got back!" a gruff voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

Lightning turned around to see another new person who glaring directly at Barret and his team as they slowly recollected themselves.

He sported a navy blue jacket over a dark shirt with dark green cargo pants, a white pilot's scarf that covered most of his shirt, a pair of goggles with a packet of cigarettes strapped underneath the band, and leather gloves and boots.

"Picked up Yazoo and Loz's signal about a few minutes ago!" he snapped as he fumbled the cigar he was smoking around his teeth, "Luckily they went past us and headed south-west!"

Barret waved a hand at him as he rubbed his head.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Just pack up your stuff so we can get the hell outta here!"

Cid glared even more furiously at Barret's remark, but he did not say anything further. He moved on over to his assembled tech set pieces on the ground, grumbling as he started to pack everything up. But for a brief second, he had at least the common courtesy to glance up at Lightning and acknowledge her presence with a greeting nod before he continued on.

Hearing groans from behind her, Lightning to see that aside from Barret and Auron, Locke and Yuffie were still laying sprawled on the ground, looking slightly pale and sickly.

"Are they alright?" she asked both men with concern.

Auron's eyebrows furrowed as he looked back down at the young pair.

"They are experiencing the after effects of the Memoir Episode," he explained grimly, "Travelling from a fixed location to another using the Lifestream has an adverse effect on those with weaker minds. Especially since their own memories, be they good or bad, are now tied to the Lifestream, which Sephiroth controls."

Barret nodded his head.

"Like I said, Lifestream teleporting is a bumpy ride. And it always will be. Whenever someone travels through it, the power of Sephiroth inside it starts to corrupt the mind's functioning for a few minutes, which causes memories to start replaying themselves. Some are pleasant, some aren't. They come at random with every different travel."

Lightning let out a disgusted huff.

"So even indirectly Sephiroth could still torture people mentally."

Auron frowned slightly.

"Which is why we only use teleportation as a last-minute emergency. Being heavily reliant on something so life-threatening could possibly leave you with a permanently broken mind, or brain-dead."

As the three of them watched, Locke slowly started to recover as he shook the cobwebs loose from his head.

"I think we can agree that we shan't use teleporting ever again," he commented as he got to his feet.

"It's still being counted as a last-minute resort," Barret responded curtly, "Unless ya wanna get caught by Sephiroth."

A few seconds later and Yuffie began to stir out of unconsciousness.

"Oh man... I had to relive that childhood boredom in Wutai..." she groused with a small frown, "Just when I had finally stuffed all of it at the back of my mind..."

Hopping to her feet, her mood quickly brightened and she exclaimed, "Oh well! Guess there's just somethings you can't really get rid of from your head!"

"Just like me trying to ignore that you're a freaking kleptomaniac," Barret muttered with an unapproved glower.

Yuffie whirled on him and frowned.

"Hey! At least when I steal something, I don't just leave it at the side to collect dust alright?!"

Barret folded his arms.

"Uh huh? And I'm pretty all those things in your shack are really valuable, considering how much dust they've gathered?"

"I was saving them for something important!" Yuffie defended herself.

"Like when you lost all your stolen Materia to me at Liar's dice?" Locke quipped with a sly grin.

Turning to him, Yuffie warned angrily, "Just you wait, buster! Somehow I'm gonna figure out how to win against you!"

"Oi, morons! If y'all are done flippin' your gums can we get a move on?" Cid called from nearby, in his hand a large bag that held all of his technical gadgets, "I don't wanna stick around if Yazoo and Loz decided to make a U-turn!"

"What? The Sons?" Barret questioned him, "Are they on the way here?"

Cid stared at him in absolute confoundment before he let out an irritated groan. Instead of answering his question, he turned around and started marching off, grumbling to himself as he did so.

Barret stared at him briefly and then looked back to the others.

"What's up with him?"

 _"Cleary you weren't paying attention..."_ Lightning thought to herself with a slight shake of her head as Locke and Yuffie shrugged back their response to Barret's question.

Giving off a shrug of his own, Barret said, "Alright, ya heard the man. Let's move on out."

As the others began to trek onwards after the blonde technician, Lightning fell back behind with Auron who was bringing up the rear.

"If I could ask," she asked him, "How long have you known these people?"

Auron briefly smirked at her and then responded, "A few hundred years... give or take."

Lightning's eyes went wide at his response. He had been on this asteroid for _centuries?!_

Noticing her reaction, Auron chuckled softly, "Don't worry. These people make be grating on the nerves when you first meet them, but after a while you'll get used to it. It comes with the experience."

"Yeah? Well I don't think I have that time to do so just yet," Lightning muttered back, "I still have some friends out there."

"Then I pray for their safety," Auron stated seriously, "If Sephiroth discovers that a handful of his victims were suddenly brought back alive, he'll hunt them down to find out why, no matter what methods he resorts to."

His statement sounded off alarm bells in Lightning's head.

"What do you mean by **"suddenly brought back alive"**?"

* * *

 **Okay, if I were to be honest, I've faced a bit of trouble writing out the description setting for the Arch of Shattered Mirrors. On one hand I wanted it to feel more than just a wide cavern and a maze, on the other hand... it just feels like I am describing it as though it were just the same as the caverns in the previous two chapters.**

 **But bad things aside, the setting of the Arch of Shattered Mirrors is inspired by the time realm in the Star Wars Rebels episode "A World Between Worlds", especially with the voice echoes. Btw, kudos to those who know which FF games each of the quotes came from! The place is intended to be a window to the events of worlds that have been conquered by Sephiroth, a place of reminiscing the past, and also as described in the story, Sephiroth's trophy room.**

 **Now I'm sure you're probably wondering when I'll go back to Noctis, Prompto and Serah? Well, for certain we could be seeing them in either the next chapter or the following one, with plenty more FF characters still to come. As the story goes further along, things still start to get heated up, especially when Sephiroth finally makes his entrance upon Eos' stage. But that's still a long way off, but we'll get there in time I assure you!**

 **See you next time!**


	7. A Space Rock Mutiny

With a loud cry, Noctis abruptly awoke from his deep slumber, although the way he did felt rather forced instead of on his own volition. And when he took a look around the place that he was currently in, he slowly adopted a expression of confusion.

This did not look like his bedroom in the Crown City, not in a million years.

It was all nothing but rock, more rock, and even more rock... and possibly a couple of crystals here and there that made the foreboding atmosphere feel somewhat less intense.

And then all of a sudden, his memories started to return back in droves.

The fall of Insomnia. His adventure with his friends across the world. Meeting Serah in Altissia.

"Oh... that's right..." he muttered softly to himself, "The end of the world."

He then tried to move, which only served to remind him further of how far in the present he really was. Suddenly feeling a sharp tug against his arms, legs and his entire body, Noctis looked all around him to inspect why he could not move.

More or less he was surprised to see chains holding him in place aloft in the air against two pillars of stone.

"Huh, this is new..." he mused to himself, observing how the chains were glowing partially in a greenish hue.

And then he glanced around to the greenish hue of the room.

"Green sure must be an assorted rainbow colour 'round here," he remarked softly.

"Oh, you have no idea," came the creepy, familiar voice that came from directly above him.

Noctis tilted his head upwards to the misty fog above to watch as the young man descended downwards to his level, a cruel grin on his youthful features.

"You would be surprised by how much it does for meditation."

Noctis let out a small huff.

"I'll bet..."

With a loud sigh, Kadaj lamented, "As much as I had enjoyed watching you enjoy your physical prowess back on your backwater planet, sadly the final judgement will be passed onto you by Father."

"And by Father you mean Sephiroth?" Noctis inquired with a frown.

"Of course, if your feeble mind was paying any close attention," Kadaj taunted back, which made his prisoner's blood boil a little, "But between you and me, if it were down to me, I would have deemed you as a worthy opponent to fight against for the future of your world. Again however, that is for Father to decide."

He leered close to Noctis' face.

"Which means nothing will hold me back against playing with you until we arrive."

Noctis felt his stomach twist just a little in his body. What did Kadaj mean by play?

Kadaj floated further from Noctis and raised a hand.

Within seconds, long tendrils came down from the mist at his beck and call.

"Now... let us see how mentally strong you are, Your Highness," Kadaj proclaimed with a chuckle and he pointed a finger at the Prince.

The tendrils shot out at Noctis with lightning speed akin to a striking snake, and within seconds their ends had embedded themselves into his flesh all around his body.

Noctis did his best to hold back his grunts of uneasiness and pain, but Kadaj could still feel it ebbing away at his mind and thoughts.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" he asked rhetorically with a sharp laugh, "Unfortunately for you, that's where the fun really begins."

He sent up a fire blast directly into the mist which sent the energy flowing the tendrils, until it reached Noctis' skin, where it ended with him screaming out in agony.

* * *

"What do you mean "give me a sec"?!" Serah snapped at Prompto as they continue to amble on aimlessly through the pitch black atmosphere, wherever they were.

"It's really hard to see down here, so you'll excuse me if I can't see anything in front of my face!" Prompto replied back hysterically in a high-pitched voice as he fumbled around with something in his hands.

If anything he was mostly grateful that the darkness obscured Serah, because he was unknowingly saved a great deal of a death stare that she was just about tempted to give him. Her voice on the other hand... he did his best to at least bear with her rants as he attempted to find to power up his portable flashlight.

Serah chuckled humourlessly.

"Oh that's just terrific now, ain't it? We've been trapped here in inky blackness for who knows how long, and you STILL can't get your doohickey to work!"

"Turning this thing on is much more complicated than it seems, alright?" Prompto defended himself.

And then all of a sudden, there was a bright flickering of flash and Serah cried out in surprise as the beam was shone right in her eyes for a split-second.

Prompto, unaware of what just happened, breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ah... there we go..." he muttered happily to see his flashlight illuminate the dark area they were in.

He hooked the device onto his jacket and turned to Serah.

"Right! Now we can get a move on!" he chirped brightly and started to move off.

After a few seconds of blinking and rubbing out the black spots in her vision, Serah quickly followed suit after him, a dark glower plastered on her annoyed features.

For the next fifteen minutes that went by without a hitch, the pair trekked on through the darkness, with no apparent end in sight. And since Prompto only had one flashlight, it was still quite a hassle to push on easily with the constant trips and brushes against rocks and uneven walls.

"... how far do you things this cave go one for?" Serah started to ask aloud after another half-an-hour of walking.

The lack of light was slowly starting to get to her, and she was did not like it.

"Oh! S-Serah... u-um... probably about who knows how many kilometres or whatever it's called..." Prompto replied back in a nervous tone as his eyes glanced all around.

Noting the incoherent sentence he was uttering, Serah strutted up to his side.

"Are you okay, Prompto?" she asked with a look of concern.

"W-What? Me? Of c-course I'm alright...!" Prompto attempted to respond with bravado, but he was failing miserably.

Unconvinced by his assurance, Serah brisked right in front of him and gripped hard at his shoulder that made his stop. She gave him a narrowed-eyed look, but this time not in a way that terrified the blonde more. She looked rather worried.

Within seconds, Prompto's drama act quickly dropped and he let out a sigh. The girl clearly had her ways of breaking down barriers.

"I-It's just that... I'd n-never thought I'd be in a place like this again..." he finally confessed as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Serah tilted her head out of curiosity.

"So you've been in a cave before?"

Prompto looked a little squeamish.

"Wasn't so long ago..." he explained slowly and he looked away from her, "Noctis, myself, Iggy and Gladio traversed a dark cave just to seek out the location of a weapon. We also across a bunch of monsters along the way. Really terrifying."

"Huh..." Serah muttered with a look of sympathy, "Must have be some adventure."

"Oh ho, it was way worse than it seemed!" Prompto suddenly exclaimed as he flailed his arms about as though he were telling a story, "There were goblins, more goblins, and WAY more goblins! And Gladio had to kick a stupid can to scare me! And then there was loud banging from a locked door! And then there was this huge spider thingy that was so ferocious! I tell you, it was so scary that I-"

He felt a finger being pressed against his lips, and he quickly silenced himself before he could ramble on. His eyes trailed it back to Serah, who was giving him a small smile.

"So what about this weapon you were looking for?" she asked him gently and she removed her finger, "Was it important?"

Prompto smiled back with a look of gratefulness; Serah was obviously asking him this just so he could get his mind off of that terrible experience. And he was more than happy to indulge her with some facts.

"Well... let's just say that, um... the weapon we were going for..." he explained, "It's... _special_..."

"In what way?" Serah specified her question.

"Essentially, you can say it harbours the power of light on our world," Prompto clarified, "To fight of evil so to speak."

Serah folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Uh huh. I've heard that bedtime story before. Try again."

Sighing softly in exasperation, Prompto said, "If you want it in more specific terms, then that weapon is a part of a set that is needed to save our world."

"A set?" Serah inquired curiously, "You mean there's more of them?"

"Yup. There's thirteen weapons in total, and together they make up the Royal Arms," Prompto stated, "Essentially, they're the most powerful weapons on Eos."

Serah digested the facts all in in total silence for a few moments.

 _"If we could get hold of all of these Royal Arms, then maybe, just maybe, we could have a possible shot against Sephiroth when he arrives,"_ she concluded in thought with a stroke of her chin, _"That is, if we ever make it back to Eos."_

Looking back at Prompto, she further asked, "How many of these weapons have you guys found so far?"

Prompto gave a plain shrug.

"Well... if memory serves me correctly... we only have obtained four of 'em, with the rest scattered all 'round the continent; some are in Niff territory. Of course we attempted to grab a fifth from beneath the ruins of an old castle tower. Let's just say... the attempt didn't end well."

Serah nodded her head slowly in understanding.

"I see..."

On the inside, she felt a slight renewal of hope for their situation. She knew that it was probably going to take more than just military capabilities to take on Sephiroth without having the battle end badly within just a few seconds.

But with these so-called Royal Arms however... if Prompto's words were to be believed that they were powerful, then there might still be an ace in the hole. A potential trump card to level the playing field evenly in the inevitable conflict for survival against the One-Winged Angel.

But then with one look around her, and she was quickly reminded of their current dilemma. The top priority still stood with rescuing Noctis first, with the next step being figuring out how to pilot this space rock back to Eos. With all of these detours, Serah knew that time was running against Noctis' homeworld. The window of opportunity was closing fast for both her and Prompto, and she knew that they had to act quickly. Depending on how fast Sephiroth was moving towards Eos, it could take up about to a few days before Eos faced its own Judgement Day.

What made the situation much direr was the fact that procuring the Royal Arms was like finding needles in a haystack. They were scattered all around Eos, and it would most definitely take up more time to just ascertain their locations; time that could have been allotted to preparations instead. If there was any chance against Sephiroth, Serah would gladly take it. But that would mean having to remain vigilant and focussed at all times. No more dilly dallying and no more joking around. And that also meant having to snap out of her thoughts immediately, which she did.

"We'd better get a move on," she proclaimed and started to brisk forward, "The faster we rescue Noctis, the faster we can find a way to get back to Eos and secure those Royal Arms."

"Whoa whoa, hold on a minute!" Prompto called out as he rushed to catch up to her, "You wanna **use** the Royal Arms against Sephiroth?"

Serah did not stop to look back, but she responded.

"You stated that they are the most powerful weapons of your world, right? Why _wouldn't_ you use them to save it?"

Prompto thought about her logic briefly.

"... Okay, good point," he admitted, "But there's just one teensy weensy piece of detail you oughta know about."

Hearing this, Serah partially looked around to stare at him.

"Oh? And what would-"

Her sentence had cut off abruptly when she slammed into a rock wall with a loud "Oomph!"

Prompto cringed slightly when she made hard contact and winced.

"Ooh... that's gonna hurt..."

Temporarily disorientated from her aching skull that absorbed the brunt of the impact, Serah groaned out, "Who put a rock wall in front of me...?"

Shaking out the dizziness from her mind, she looked out to scan the height of the wall. And then she thought she saw something at the top of the wall.

Wanting to ensure that her eyes were not playing tricks on her, or Kadaj had put in place mind games of his own, she squinted hard to get a better look. Sure enough, she saw what appeared to be a faint glow of green coming from the top. Her eyes brightened with relief.

"Prompto..." she spoke out in a tone of growing joy, "I think we've reached an exit to this place!"

Prompto gasped with elatedness and relief.

"Really?!"

He followed her gaze upwards to where he too could see the aura green that illuminated the ceiling of the cave they were in.

But then he eyes trailed the vertical length of the wall, all the way back down to where he and Serah were at – the base level. His smile quickly faded from his face.

Serah turned around to face him, and he could practically see the gears turning in her head through her eyes. His face paled slightly as the sudden realisation.

"D-Do we have to...?" he murmured softly.

Serah smiled widely and nodded her head eagerly.

Prompto let loose a shaky breath and pointed an index finger up to the top of the wall.

"... Up there...?" he clarified, even though he already knew what the answer would be.

"Yup!" Serah chirped and she moved over to the wall.

With the beam of Prompto's portable flashlight being casted on the part of the wall she was viewing, Serah founded a jutted slab of rock that seemed sturdy enough to hold up her weight.

Carefully, she placed a foot onto the rock and pressed on it slightly to see if it would break off under pressure. When it didn't, Serah grabbed onto another slab and hoisted herself up. Soon, she had started to climb, with almost relative ease.

As he watched her ascent up the wall, Prompto a sense of hesitation and nervousness surge through his body. Even though the sport of rock-climbing was an official thing on Eos, it had never been a part of his official activities during his school years as well as his exercise routines. The closest time he had ever got to climbing was through a flight of stairs in his primary school during physical education. And boy was that a gruelling experience.

Shaking that thought out of his head, Prompto coached himself, "C'mon, you cowardly idiot... You're not that same obese kid from long ago, now you are-"

"Prompto! Are you coming or not?" Serah called down to him from half-way up the wall.

Prompto's eyes went wide with admiration at the pink-haired female who continued on with her climb.

"She makes it look so easy..." he mumbled to himself.

And he was somewhat embarrassed by how Serah was inadvertently making him look weak, but that he could not fault her for it. For all intents and purposes, it was a normal view of man to be much more versatile and physically strong when compared to a woman.

And then along comes Serah, who was able to scale up a tall, rocky wall with the greatest of ease, and not even with a hint of fear when she looked down to him from above. It was notable since most people would wet their pants just by looking down and realise how far up they were.

But Prompto could not falter, not at this moment. Not when the future of Eos was at stake. Not when Noctis had been kidnapped and was now counting on both him and Serah to save him. The past was in the past, now part of history, and it was about time that he let go of who he had been back then.

"Noctis stood by my side, even during the worst times of my life..." he thought to himself.

With renewed steeled resolve, Prompto narrowed his eyes. "... Now it's my turn to stand by him."

He followed suit in Serah's climbing path, started on the same slab she had started on. With fast nimble speed, he began scaling the wall as though it was child's play, and the closer he got to the top, the more confident he became. His unknown feat of endurance and speed reinforced his belief further that he was different person now.

Within a couple of minutes, he had arrived at the top, with a little extra aid from Serah who pulled him to his feet.

Noting the smile he was giving off, Serah remarked, "Looks like somebody's feeling better now."

Turning to look at her, Prompto shrugged.

"Eh, what's a wall compared to the monsters and animals that I've fought?"

He then turned around to gaze over the side down to the ground below.

Staring for a few brief moments, Prompto thought to himself, _"Huh... the view doesn't look that bad."_

But on the inside he was surprised just by how far he had come thanks to his own courage. He was hoping to keep this momentum up where it was, for he was going to need it sorely in order to rescue Noctis from that Son of Sephiroth. While he still was unsure as to how he and Serah were going to save him, Prompto was still confident that they would find a way.

Looking back to Serah, he said with a look of seriousness.

"C'mon. Noctis isn't gonna save himself."

Serah nodded back her agreement and glanced over to the cavernous passage up in front of them that was partially lit in a green hue. As both she and Prompto continued on their way into the cavern, the latter quickly moved to switch off his flashlight, seeing as he no longer required it.

Sure enough, the environment became a lot more visible thanks to the green glow, and as Serah and Prompto trekked through the area, they were greeted by a much more alluring environment.

There were curved-out shaped rock pillars that were holding up the ceiling, crystals that dangled from actual wooden branches like decorations, and the ground was chiselled out into a smooth landscape.

"Now this isn't what one would expect when they think of a bad guy's lair," Prompto commented softly in awe as he surveyed the area.

Serah who was as easily mesmerised by the atmosphere of the cavern, replied, "It definitely looks like something out of a fairy tale."

Both of them continued to walk on through the cavernous tunnel, until they reached a point where the dangling crystals were no longer there. And that was when they heard a faint noise coming from up ahead. They both halted in their pacing to pick up on the sound.

"Do you hear what I'm hearing?" Serah asked Prompto as she stared ahead.

Prompto glanced at her.

"Oh, you're hearing it too. For a second there I thought I was losing my mind."

"Come on, I think it might be Noctis," Serah said and she continued to advance forwards, Prompto following close at her heels.

With every step that they took, they closed the distance between themselves and the noise. As they grew nearer to the source, the sound became louder and clearer. After covering about 500 metres, they could make out that the noise was... screaming. For Prompto, he recognised it immediately and his heart lurched at the person it belonged to.

"Noct..." he mumbled softly, and then he brisked forwards.

About twenty metres later, he stumbled across what appeared to be a large gaping hole in the wall in front of him. What lay ahead down below was Noctis' voice as it continued to scream in immense pain and agony. Prompto peered through the hole, and he was horrified by what he was seeing.

"What's wrong?" Serah asked him as she joined him at his side.

When she too gazed through the large hole, her eyes widened at what was happening.

Below where they were, they spotted Noctis being restrained in the air by glowing chains that strapped him to two rocky pillars situated in the middle of a chamber of sorts. His face was contorted in agony, and his mouth was wide open for his voice to escape through loud screams of torture.

In front of him stood Kadaj, who was constantly shooting elemental spells up into a green fog above.

Both of them traced the energy that surged into Noctis through long tendrils that connected him to the mist. Just by the look of him being tortured alone made Prompto sick to his stomach.

"That bastard..." he growled angrily as he started haul himself onto the ledge of the hole, "I'm gonna-"

"No wait!" Serah exclaimed in a hushed whisper and quickly pulled him back.

Thankfully Kadaj appeared to be too engrossed in his enjoyment to even pick up on the blonde's anguished screams.

Once she dragged him far enough from the hole, she chastised him, "Are you nuts, Prompto? You can't just barge in and give away our position like that!"

"But Noct's being _tortured!_ " Prompto cried out in absolute fury, "Can't you hear him screaming?! That son of a bitch is playing with him like a toy, and you just expect me to sit here and watch my best friend die slowly?!"

"Listen to yourself! You're not thinking rationally!" Serah admonished him, "Kadaj is the child of a god! What if he catches you from a mile away, huh? How would Noctis feel if he saw you get captured trying to save him?"

Prompto opened his mouth to retort, but as her words began registering in his mind, he paused as he began to understand the mistake that he had almost made. Seeing that he was now realising the extent of the issue at hand, Serah continued to press him.

"I know that you and Noctis are best friends, Prompto, and I truly understand how much I would be willing to risk just to save and protect someone that I care about," she spoke to him in a calmer, softer voice to comfort him, the thought of her sister in Valhalla coming to mind, "But sometimes, even the most direct solutions are not always the best ones."

Placing her hand on Prompto's chest, she muttered, "I doubt that Kadaj would kill Noctis since he's taking him back to his Father for inspection of your world's inhabitants. However, Kadaj is a Son of Sephiroth, and he is strong and possibly near-omnipotent. We will save Noctis soon enough, Prompto, but believe me when I say that we have to think this through first. Alright?"

Prompto stared at her with tormented eyes for a brief moment, and then glanced back to the large hole-like window where Noctis' screams continued.

With a reluctant sigh, he muttered back his response, "Yeah... alright..."

Giving him an encouraging smile, Serah said, "Come on, I've spotted an entrance that'll take us down to that level."

She took the lead and headed off back in the direction they came from earlier. At about five metres from where Noctis was, Prompto spotted a side entrance opening that Serah walked into.

"Huh... didn't see that before..." he mused thoughtfully as he followed in after her.

True to her word, Serah had led him down a flight of stairs that brought them onto the lower level where his friend was. While he was a bit annoyed to learn that it was nowhere near to where Noctis was being held up at, the screams were still pretty close. And then he noticed the room that he and Serah were currently in.

"Whoa... check this place out..." he muttered with disbelief as he surveyed what appeared to be a lounge area of sorts.

There was a C-shaped sofa off to one side against the farthest wall, a bed that was draped in a blanket made entirely out of greenish mist, and a desk and a chair that was situated close to another entranceway.

The designs and structural physique of the furniture in the room had a luxurious flair to their appearance, fitting enough for a rich person with a taste in the arts.

"Looks like Kadaj has a knack for colours and sophistication," Serah voiced Prompto's thoughts as she surveyed the room.

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm feeling pretty jealous right about now," Prompto concurred with a small nod as he began browsing around the room as well.

He just could not help it. It was the type of luxury that a city boy like himself had always dreamed and fantasied about for eternity.

While he himself had not a chance to view the interior rooms of the Citadel back in Insomnia, Prompto was most definitely sure that even King Regis' room would pale in comparison to this place. It was just that good and he had an insane thought to live inside this room forever.

But then he quickly snapped out of it.

"Focus Prompto! Focus!" he coached himself in a berating tone, "This is no time to ogle at a bad guy's room! We still have a best friend to save!"

"Well said!" Serah called out from the desk with a nod as she studied a pile of notes that were laid sprawled on the glass surface.

Prompto continued to scour the room for anything, any clues that could be of use against Sephiroth. And that was when he spotted something sticking out from behind the sofa. He got a closer look to see that the top of the hidden object was rectangular.

Quickly grabbed a side of the sofa, he began to pull it outwards, with the other end scraping against the floor, which sent vibrations all the way to Serah's feet.

Jumping in surprise at the sudden sensation, Serah turned around to see Prompto moving the sofa. Then looking at the obscured object that had been exposed from behind the sofa, she quickly went over to it as Prompto released his grip from the furniture.

"Looks like Kadaj has something that he wants no one else to see," Prompto mused as he and Serah crouched down before a small-sized cabinet.

"And what could be so secretive that he wants to keep out of sight?" Serah wondered as she reached over to the small handles on the doors.

Gripping them tightly, she pulled them open, allowing them to see what appeared to be a set of bottled flasks that were nestled inside. Within them, there were glowing orbs that were hovering all about like fish in a tank. On the top frame of the interior, there was a strip of paper that had been pasted, and there were words scribbled on it.

" **LEAST CONCERNED** ," Prompto read out the label.

Serah raised an eyebrow.

"Now that's putting it a bit mildly, don't you think?"

Prompto shrugged.

"Eh, whatever these things are, they must be worth little attention to Kadaj. So I think we should..."

He trailed off mid-sentence when he noticed that the pockets of his pants were glowing. He backtracked a little bit.

"My pants..." he muttered in surprise.

Serah who too noticed what was going on, commented with wide eyes, "Now that's something you don't see every day..."

Looking up to Prompto, she questioned, "What do you have in your pockets that could be causing this?"

Prompto stared back down at his pockets and began to shove his hands inside them.

"Well... the only things I carried with me aside from my last Magic Flask were a couple of..." he responded.

And then he pulled something out from one of his pockets.

"Phoenix Down feathers..." he finished, staring in shock at the feather that he was holding.

It was glowing in bright orange all of a sudden.

"Phoenix Down?" Serah asked perplexed, "You have those on Eos too?"

Nearly oblivious to her question as he continued to stare on at the glowing feather, Prompto gave a soft reply, "Yeah..."

From the feather, his eyes glanced over to the nearest flask. To his surprise, the glass bottle instrument was glowing as well. It was as though the orb thing inside was responding or reacting to the mere appearance of the feather. And then a thought came to Prompto.

He slowly moved the feather farther away from the flask, and he watched as both objects dimmed in brightness intensity. When he brought the feather closer, the brightness increased, and he noticed how the feather was being 'pulled' towards the orb inside of the flash, as it was brushing against the interior of its own prison.

"Interesting..." he muttered softly.

Serah quirked an eyebrow at him as she too observed his experiment.

"What is?"

A second later, and Prompto's head jerked up and stared at the other flasks. Serah swore she could almost see a lightbulb appear over his head and switch itself on. There was a look in his eyes that spelled out his intentions.

Prompto was suddenly having an idea.

Before she could do anything else, Prompto brushed the feather at the side of the flask, and both it and the orb made contact.

All of a sudden, the flask cracked and shattered, forcing both Serah and Prompto to back away in fright. Subsequently the other flasks shattered, effectively releasing the orbs from their confinement.

As they watched, the feather dissolved into orange mist that was promptly absorbed into the orb it made contact with, and then slowly the orb began to grow in size and shape. At the same time, Prompto cried out in surprise as his other feathers began to fly out of his pockets and head straight for the other orbs.

Once all the feathers had been absorbed, Prompto and Serah watched in awed amazement as the orbs metamorphosed their overall structures.

Limbs began to appear, clothing began to form out of thin air, and bodies began to take proper shape and form.

As soon as the brightness dissipated, standing in place of the orbs were four humans that were looking confused as to where they were.

"There's more of them..." Serah thought to herself in absolute shock, unaware that Prompto was echoing the same sentence.

After a minute of silence, one of them, a female with cropped shoulder-length brunette hair, stepped forth towards them and asked, "Excuse me, could you tell us where we are?"

* * *

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Noctis screamed out in pain as Kadaj's torture reached a whole new level of agony.

If he thought that the traumatising incident with that daemon snake woman was painful enough, then he was sure as hell wrong. That memory was nothing compared to what he was experiencing now.

It felt like he was being mauled alive by a Coeurl, getting healed, and then getting mauled again at an even worse level.

It was so excruciating, that he had lost track of how long he had been screaming the way he was.

Heck, Noctis wasn't even sure if he was losing voice by that point, considering how loud his scream constantly was. And from the way Kadaj was eyeing him with absolute glee, it was certain that he was not going to let up on the agony button anytime soon.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" Kadaj taunted him even more with the same words as before with a more maddening grin, and then shot a Thundaga spell into the mist.

Noctis suddenly began to convulse uncontrollably, bubbles forming at the corners of his mouth as he felt the electricity surge through his body.

Kadaj chuckled with sheer delight at his own work.

"If this is what you, the Champion of your world, has to offer, then I must I say I am slightly disappointed. Perhaps I should have brought that Oracle friend of yours instead."

Something flipped inside of Noctis. His eyes narrowed at the silver-hair.

"If you dare touch her..." he growled darkly, although his voice sounded hoarse from all that screaming, "Then so help me... I will strike you down with the might of all the Kings of Lucis and with all the powers of the Astrals..."

Unfortunately, Kadaj seemed less than unfazed by his threat.

"Yes, and I'm certain that will be a lovely light show," he replied ever so calmly, "But unfortunately for you, that time may never pass once Father is through with you."

With a wave of his hand, another ball of flames appeared in his palm.

Kadaj narrowed his eyes slightly at Noctis.

"I haven't seen the affects of Firaja before... let's find out how powerful it is, shall we?"

Noctis watched with widening eyes as the Son slowly raised his hand upwards in a dramatic fashion, and he preparedly steeled himself for another free session of sun tanning.

On Eos, he knew that Firaga was the most powerful form of fire spells, but _Firaja?_ He braced himself to feel first-hand to full force of it.

"I think that's quite enough!" a familiar voice suddenly shouted, and both he and Kadaj paused.

As Noctis stared in front of him with mixed reaction circling in his wide eyes, Kadaj lowered his hand and turned around.

He came face-to-face with a blonde male who was aiming his gun right at him, and that annoying pink-haired girl who was standing beside him, unarmed but still poised and ready for a fight.

"Prompto? Serah?" Noctis wondered to himself in surprise, "How are they in here with me?"

Kadaj let out a hysterical laugh and he taunted the pair, "You can't be serious!"

"Oh ho, but we are, pal!" Prompto retorted as he took a bold step closer, "I demand that you let my buddy Noct go!"

"Or what?" Kadaj challenged, "You'll gun me down like a fish in a barrel?"

Prompto shrugged.

"Eh... I was thinking more on the lines of... PRISON REVOLT!"

Kadaj raised an eyebrow in confusion at his statement, but then all of a sudden the was a blast of energy that sent him flying sideways into the wall.

With a low growl, he slowly turned around to view his attacker... no, _attackers_.

A male with disheveled blond hair with spiky layers and a football player's outfit, a female with short brunette hair and a hunter's garb, and another female with braided long blonde hair.

"Y'know? Trapping us in tiny bottles was one thing I have issues with," the male snapped angrily at Kadaj and pointed his sword at him, "But labelling us as 'Least Concerned'? Now I'm just riled up!"

"How did you escape your confinements?!" Kadaj demanded as he drew his dual-bladed katana, "I've made extra precautions to ensure that my flasks were immune to magic!"

The brunette stepped forwards and glared him down.

"Indeed you are right to have pointed that out!" she stated firmly as she trained her pistols at him, "But there was one major flaw that you had failed to even consider: Magic from a world still yet to be conquered by Sephiroth!"

Breathing out a shallow sigh, Kadaj glanced to Prompto and Serah, especially the former. He immediately understood.

"I see..." he muttered, "No matter. I will just have to correct that little mistake once I clean up this mess!"

He leapt forth with a powerful burst of speed, and began going all out against his opponents.

The three newcomers jumped out of the way before his blade connected with the ground, and then they began to retaliate through tight coordination. Eager to join in the fray, Prompto made sure his gun was cocked and loaded before he turned to Serah.

"Stick to the plan!" he told her, "The rest of us will cover for you!"

Serah nodded back her response and then the two parted ways. As Prompto charged into the fight with sprayed bullets, Serah raced forth to Noctis who appeared to be in worse shape than she thought.

"You holding alright, Your Highness?" she asked once she was right before him.

Breathing out erratically, Noctis muttered back, "You guys shouldn't be here..."

Serah gave him an exasperated look.

"Don't say things like that! You know it deep inside that you're always gonna need backup, right?"

He opened his mouth to respond, but then she placed a finger to his lips.

"Save your energy for staying alive," she instructed him gently, "Let me handle the rest."

Noctis rolled his eyes slightly, but nevertheless he complied albeit reluctantly. Focusing her attention on the tendrils that were attached to his body, Serah attempted to pull them out. Yet even as she tugged on the first one, she already earned herself a scream of pain from Noctis himself.

"It's no use!" Noctis exclaimed out in agony, "They're way too embedded in my skin!"

Stubborn as she was, Serah was not so willing to give up.

"Stop acting like such a drama queen, you big baby!" she admonished through gritted teeth, "Suck it in!"

Gripping even tighter on the tendril she was holding, she started to pull even harder, and the effort was filtered through Noctis who was howling even louder.

Hearing his friend's howling, Prompto fired off another bullet at Kadaj's exposed back as he engaged the other male, and then turned to see what Serah was doing.

Instantly alarmed by his predicament, he snapped at her, "Hey! You hurt my buddy, you're gonna deal with me!"

Serah glared back at him, "Oh, that's _very_ encouraging of you, Prompto!"

She continued to pull with all her might at the tendril, and Noctis looked as though he could pass out at any time.

"I told you..." he struggled to tell her calmly, "It's way too deep inside of my skin!"

At that point Serah was far from being reasonable, and she was silently wishing that she had not dropped Noctis' sword back in Altissia. It probably would have come in handy for a situation like this.

Suddenly, there was another hand that came in and gripped tightly at her arm.

And then there was a new female voice who exclaimed, "Stop!"

Surprised, Serah looked to her right to see that the fourth person was now standing beside her. A girl with light-green hair tied up in a ponytail and there was a look of worriedness written on her features.

"Cease your struggle at once!" she told her hastily, "He is right! The tendrils are now like an extension of his being. Trying to pull them out is as easy as giving him an injury!"

Raising an eyebrow at this, Serah looked back to Noctis, and then she finally noticed the paled colour of his face. With widened eyes of realisation, she quickly released her grip over the tendril. Almost immediately Noctis began to gasp aloud for air, as though he had been underwater for a long period.

As much as she hated to admit it, the girl was right.

If Noctis was feeling pain from even just a tug of a tendril, then she knew that it was a futile effort. And that now left her with very little options regarding alternative ideas. And then looking over to Kadaj, who appeared to be holding out on his own quite well against the others, she knew that the window of opportunity could be closing fast.

Looking back to the girl, she asked, "How can we free Noctis?"

The girl looked to Noctis, and the chains and the tendrils that he was tangled up in. Her face became slightly saddened and she pitied his predicament.

"Physical force is not enough to remove these tendrils and chains," she surmised softly, "They are not made out of ordinary materials."

She turned to face Serah.

"Every object created within this asteroid, the tendrils and the chains, they are all made up of controlled Lifestream energy."

Serah's felt her heart drop a little.

Now that complicated things a little bit more. And Noctis looked much weaker than he was a few seconds ago.

"So how do we overcome this obstacle?" she questioned.

"The method for countering the energy is simple," the girl responded, "But it is the execution that will be most difficult. If we cut out the source of the Lifestream here, then that energy should be left unrestrained by the lack of control."

It sounded simple enough, that was until the girl added in, "But then comes the problem. The source of the Lifestream upon this asteroid..." She did not need to finish the sentence.

Both girls turned around to stare at their adversary who still proving to be quite a match for their comrades.

Meanwhile, Prompto was practically struggling to dodge every Firaga blast that came in direction. The explosions alone were rocking the ground enough for him to mistime a couple of rolls and jumps, which made him extremely vulnerable to potential attacks.

"You know? This guy's starting to really get on my nerves!" he commented in annoyance as he loaded another magazine case into his gun.

"Feeling's mutual!" the blonde-haired female replied back as she did a backflip to avoid a diagonal slash from Kadaj.

"Aw, c'mon Rikku! Why spoil the fun?" the male stated with a look of ecstasy, "We haven't had a fight for long while!"

"One of us is enjoying it! How convenient!" Prompto shouted back as he began unloading a barrage of bullets that Kadaj easily deflected.

The brunette backed him up a short while later as she leapt high over Kadaj's head and began firing away with her dual pistols. Kadaj grunted with effort as he lifted up his free hand to form a protective shield barrier to save himself from the metallic hail.

"Prompto!" Serah shouted from the sidelines.

Turning to her momentarily, he shouted back, "What's up?!"

"The tendrils and chains are connected to Kadaj!" Serah told him hastily, "If you take him out, Noctis can be set loose from his confinement!"

Prompto paled slightly.

"Oh sure... the good ol' 'take out the bad guy to break the spell' cliché... why am I not-"

"LOOK OUT!" the male hollered out to him and Prompto looked upwards to see Kadaj swooping down at him, an evil glint in his eyes and his blade poised to cleave him in half.

Crying out terror, Prompto shielded himself out of sheer instinct, preparing for bitter end.

And then all of a sudden, the blonde female girl, Rikku, jumped right in front of him and held up her daggers to block off Kadaj's strike. She acted quickly and delivered kick to the Son's gut, which sent him flying a short distance away towards the other male.

Turning around to Prompto, she smiled warmly.

"You okay?"

Prompto, who was suddenly amazed and mesmerised by the way she was dressed and how she had saved him, could only mutter out, "... Are you an angel?"

Rolling her eyes with a shake of her head, she reached down and lightly pulled the blonde shooter to his feet. Both blondes exchanged nods before turning their attention back to Kadaj who had been forced back further from where Noctis was being held hostage.

Glaring down all of his opponents with a steely gaze, Kadaj openly proclaimed, "Foolish simpletons! Your combined efforts are futile compared to the power I wield!"

Standing at his full height, he charged up a power spell in his hand which was now starting to glow brightly.

"And now you will bear witness to the might of the Son of – UGH!"

He felt something hard collide against the back of his head, and his world suddenly went black. The Son collapsed onto the ground, unconscious, revealing Serah behind him who was holding a relatively medium-sized rock in her hands.

"The Son of what?" she taunted his downed form with a grin, "Guess you didn't finish!"

With Kadaj down and out, the Lifestream energy was set free from his control. Almost immediately, the tendrils and the chains dissolved from Noctis, who weakly started to collapse. The girl quickly caught him in her arms, but she quite surprised by how heavy he was.

"Ow…" he moaned softly as he felt every part of his body ache.

"Easy now…" the girl comforted him with a gentle smile, "The danger has past."

And then with cautious effort, she slowly settled him down against one of the rock pillars.

Meanwhile, the others were breathing a sigh of relief that the battle was over.

"Man oh man, this guy sure was a piece of work," the male fighter commented as he set down his sword on the ground and began doing some stretches.

"And yet he's still half the man Sephiroth is," the brunette female stated with a small frown.

Prompto waved a hand as he put away his gun.

"C'mon guys, the son of a bitch's down and out for the count! It's probable he won't be bothering us for a while!"

Then turning to the brunette, he commented, "Hey, you looked swell with the sharpshooting!"

The brunette smiled back at him warmly and nodded.

"Not too bad yourself."

"Um, pardon me for interrupting a social gathering…" Noctis called out from the rock pillar as Serah and the other girl diagnosed his injuries, "But am I missing out on something here?"

He glanced over to Prompto with a confused look, calmly demanding what was going on. The male fighter looked at him and brightened with a grin.

"Ah! I believe we haven't met yet!" he exclaimed cheerfully.

Walking over to Noctis' side, he knelt down and extended out a hand.

"Name's Tidus!" he introduced himself in a friendly manner.

Noctis raised an eyebrow at his upbeat attitude for a brief moment, and then slowly extended out his own.

"Noctis," he acknowledged with a small nod.

Both shook on it for a few seconds, before Tidus released his grip.

"And then there're my other friends, Yuna and Rikku."

He gestured to the brunette and Rikku that were standing beside him, waving their hands in a friendly way at Noctis.

From them, Noctis turned his attention to the girl who tending to his arm, and he was surprised that she was staring back at him in turn. Blue met with purple for a couple of moments, as though they were entranced, before they both suddenly broke off contact.

Shyly, the girl mumbled something under her breath. Noctis raised an eyebrow at this.

"Hmm?" he hummed in confusion.

The girl half-glanced at him and smiled shyly.

"My name is Terra Branford."

Nodding back, Noctis said, "A pleasure."

Both stared at each other again before Serah called back the Prince's attention.

"Alright, Your Highness, your injuries do not appear be that serious," she informed him, "All that's needed is just a pinch of Curaga and you should be good to go."

Hearing this, Yuna stepped forward and volunteered, "Let me help."

A second later and she casted Curaga.

Rejuvenated, Noctis got up to his feet and dusted himself off.

"Alright, Noct! Back at it and ready for Round Two!" Prompto cheered as he walked over to wrap an arm around his buddy.

"Yeah yeah, thanks for the vote of confidence," Noctis muttered as he struggled against his best friend tugging at his neck, "Buzz off."

He pushed away Prompto's arm and stepped forth towards the transparent part of the rock wall. Through it he could make out the dozens of stars that were rushing past by, or rather the asteroid was going past by, as it continued on its course towards Sephiroth.

"This thing appears to be running on autopilot," he deduced as he scanned around the area, "Even without Kadaj at the wheel, it's still on a trajected course towards wherever Sephiroth's at."

"So does that mean that we're gonna have another fight on our hands?" Rikku asked, somewhat worried and nervous.

"Not if we find a way to turn this hunk of junk around!" Serah stated and stepped forth.

Turning to face everyone else, she proclaimed, "I've been to the world that Sephiroth's targeting next. And as it happens, Noctis and Prompto originated from there!"

Hearing this, the others looked to the two men in-question, and they gave them sympathetic looks.

"I feel for you two," Tidus spoke with a saddened smile, "Sephiroth can be a real asshole when he comes to killing folks you care about."

Noctis and Prompto glanced at one another.

"But we still have hope to stop this madness from continuing!" Serah continued on, "On their world, they have weapons known as the Royal Arms!"

Noctis cocked his eyebrows upon hearing that term.

"Wait, you know about them?" he questioned her.

Serah looked to him and smiled.

"Prompto told me everything."

Leaving the Prince to share a look with his friend, she said, "The Royal Arms the most powerful set of weapons on their world, but they are scattered in different areas. If we can make it back there and find bring together all thirteen of them, we may have an ace in the hole."

"Interesting strategy," Tidus mused thoughtfully, "But then begs the question; how do we get ourselves over there?"

"Well… I think I have a solution…" Yuna spoke up, "But there's a 70/30 chance that it may not work…"

"Never tell me the odds," Serah said with a hint of snark and made a light-hearted smile, "What's our play?"

Yuna turned around and surveyed the green mist above them.

"Well… back on our world… there was this spiritual energy that embodies everything that we are, and it takes the form of what we call pyreflies. Within them, lies everything that makes us what we are. Which is similar to the energy that I have sensed within the Lifestream for a long while now."

She turned to the others and said, "I am a Summoner, and my duty was formerly to send the souls of the fallen to the world of the afterlife, called the Farplane."

"So in a way, you control where these pyreflies go to?" Prompto inquired curiously.

Yuna nodded her head.

"Mmm hmm. Without me to shepherd them, the souls overtime would become corrupted and transform into terrible monsters."

Noctis stroked his chin.

"So by that logic, if the Lifestream is similar to these pyreflies of your world… then that would mean that…"

"… Yes…" Yuna replied.

"Well, what are we waiting for then? No more dilly dallying!" Tidus stated seriously, "Time to make a big U-turn!"

"Yeah! Do your thing, Yunie!" Rikku cheered her half-cousin on with great enthusiasm.

Closing her eyes in deep concentration, Yuna suddenly began to glow in a bright hue.

As everyone watched in silence, the brunette's outfit began to change. Within seconds, her hunter's garb were replaced a far more traditional-like ensemble robe, and her cropped hair smoothened out to emulate the more old-fashioned style. And then finally, a staff appeared in her hands as the glow dimmed down.

Tidus smiled in admiration as he was reminded of the first time he came face-to-face with Yuna. She looked beautiful now, as she did back then.

"Have I ever told you how much I missed this getup?"

Yuna smiled warmly back at him.

"Sometimes a little bit of nostalgia brings a bit of life to the present."

She took a couple of steps forwards to give herself some space from the rest.

Staring up at the Lifestream above her, she thought to herself, _"I hope this works…"_

Slowly and gracefully, she began a graceful dance that Tidus and Rikku knew as the Sending ritual. Of course this time around there were no souls to send to the afterlife. This time the life energy was needed to steer the asteroid around.

As the next few seconds passed, something began to happen. As everyone else watched, the fog above began to glow slightly, and as time went by, the glow brightened quickly.

As Yuna continued to dance to the rhythm of the ritual, she could feel herself connecting with the essence of life that laid within the Lifestream. The feeling of it… was similar to the pyreflies, like they had a strong connecting bond to one another.

It was by that point that Yuna knew that her idea was working. And without Kadaj's presence to disrupt the process, Yuna was able to attain control of the energy itself without any resistance whatsoever.

Gradually, she came to the end of her dance, and she paused for a moment to collect herself. With a sigh of relief, she turned to the others, a brightened smile on her face. It did not take any words for the others to know what it meant.

Instead, there were nods that allowed Yuna to proceed. Concentrating hard, she twirled her staff and extended out her other hand. Picturing the asteroid moving in the other direction, she commanded the energy to emulate her imagination. Her hand began to give off a greenish hue.

Slowly but surely, there was a low rumbling as the asteroid began to shift around by the Summoner's will, and from the transparent window opening, Noctis could see through it the stars were moving in a different direction altogether.

After a few seconds, Yuna lowered her arms and leaned against her staff, clearly exhausted by her handy work. Alarmed by this, Tidus and Rikku raced over to help her.

"You okay?" Tidus asked her worriedly as he helped her by an arm.

Looking up to him, Yuna breathed out, "I did it…"

From up ahead at the window, Serah, Noctis, Terra and Prompto were watching as they began going past the stars that they just passed by, now on a new trajected course back towards Eos.

"Well I'll be damned…" Prompto muttered with impression, "It worked like a charm."

"And now we play the waiting game," Noctis added in with folded arms.

Serah giggled a little and playfully punched on the Prince's arm.

"Don't look so glum, at least we're on the right path now," she spoke with a grin, "And once we get back to Eos, we regroup with your friends and scour Eos for the rest of the Royal Arms."

"Even if we could find the remaining ones, what makes you that with them we have a good chance against Sephiroth?" Noctis asked her with a look of concern.

Serah patted him on the shoulder with an encouraging smile.

"Faith, Noctis. Faith that we will all survive this."

Just then, there was groaning sounds that everyone became alarmed by. Turning around, they saw that Kadaj was slowly starting to stir.

With widened eyes Prompto exclaimed, "Oh boy, he's waking up!"

Acting quickly, Yuna casted a powerful Sleep spell on Kadaj.

The Son was knocked out again instantly, and yet even though he was incapacitated, the others were still not thoroughly assured.

"We gotta make sure he doesn't cause anymore problems for us until we arrive back on Eos," Noctis stated with a frown as he gazed down to the slumbering Son.

"Easier said than done," Serah muttered, "We can't afford to have Yuna cast spells on him all the time, not when she's needed to steer this thing properly. And besides, Kadaj could easily overpower her magic given the right circumstance."

Yuna nodded her head.

"I agree. Even with my command of the Lifestream now, Kadaj would still prove to be more than a match for my abilities. Unless..."

She stroked her chin in thought for a few moments, and then she brightened.

"I have an idea!" she exclaimed.

Turning to Rikku and Tidus, she instructed, "Bring the Son and follow me into the lounge room."

As the Summoner quickly brisked out of the chamber, Tidus and Rikku exchanged confused looks and shrugs. They went over to the slumbering Son and hoisted him up by his arms. As the other three watched, the pair quickly dragged him out of the chamber.

Somewhat intrigued by what was happening, Prompto remarked with an elbow nudge to Noctis, "What do you think Yuna's cooked up for that bastard?"

Noctis smiled thinly.

"No clue. But if she believes that it could keep Kadaj at bay, then I'm willing to trust her."

Serah nodded her head in agreement and then said, "Well, I'm gonna comb the rest of the place and see what else Kadaj has kept in his collection. Any of you guys wanna come?"

Noctis shook his head.

"No thanks. I think I'm just gonna enjoy the view of space for a while."

"Yeah, me too!" Prompto said as he pulled out his camera and began snapping pictures, "When are we ever going to get a view like this again?"

Although a little disappointed by their responses, Serah still was respectful of their decisions.

"Alrighty then, see you guys later," she said and began heading off.

The only people now remaining in the chamber, were Noctis, Prompto, and Terra was slowly walking up to the former's side. She stared out into the cosmic horizon.

"So Noctis..." she started to asked him, and he turned to her, "Serah mentioned you as "Your Highness"."

She turned to look at him.

"Are you of royalty by any chance?"

There was an emotion that crossed Noctis' features, but it went by so fast that Terra was not able to tell what it was.

"... In a matter of speaking... yeah," he responded in a softer tone, "I am a King, in technicality alone."

"Oh..." Terra muttered with understanding and she gave a slow nod.

They both continued to stare out into the stars beyond in complete silence, unaware that either of them were unsure as how to carry on the conversation. Unaware that they were sharing the same look of nervousness, awkwardness and hesitation.

And then finally, one of them broke the silence.

"So your homeworld..." Terra said monotonously, "... how far away do you think it may be from here?"

Noctis breathed in deeply.

"Well... it depends on how far and fast Kadaj had brought us out here. But one thing's for certain, even though we've got a bit of some elbow room 'round here for a brief stay-cay, the war has yet to begin. And my home will be where history will take centre stage."

And with that, the pair fell silent again as they stare out into the stars, unaware that Prompto was no longer taking pictures of outer space.

He was sneakily capturing footage of their interaction, and when he was done, he grinned from ear-to-ear as he played back the footage again.

* * *

 **And that's another chapter done, folks!**

 **Now, before I get along to some facts detailing this one, I would like to address a question one of you guys have raised.**

 **mastergamer14:** **Will there be a reference or cameo from _Kingdom Hearts_?**

 **Ans: Well, in all manner of speaking, it's still a little too early to tell especially since this story would be the first of a series. That's right, you heard it correctly: I intend to have this story branch out into a series similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and every other movie franchise that's based around the shared universe concept. But to the point regarding _Kingdom Hearts_ , while it would be interesting to see or hear a mentioning or two when pertaining to possible connections to the other franchise, it's definitely not something that I would fixate my ideas on. After all, in terms of Square Enix properties, _Final Fantasy_ and _Kingdom Hearts_ are set in completely different universes, and alas this story is set in an alternate universe of _Final Fantasy_ , not the other one. However though, as I have stated, this is just the first story in the series. The **first **. How it goes along beyond it is anybody's guess for now. As the overall story arc continues to develop and grow with the series, almost anything could happen, so therefore I will not rule out any ideas that could contribute appropriately to the series in the future.**

* * *

 **Now with that settled, let's move onto some interesting details:**

 **There is a reference to the anime _Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV_ , where it portrays Prompto as formerly a much more obese kid who became inspired by Noctis and unknowingly Lunafreya to burn off those excess fats. And then when Prompto mentions his vow to stand by Noctis side always, he says a similar sentence during the Battle with the Kings of Yore in the _Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition_. **

**In a way, the pyreflies are quite similar to the Lifestream, in a sense that both are the source of energy that sustains every living being that has and had ever walked upon both Spira and Gaia respectively in _X_ and _VII_. In fact, this is crucial reason why Yuna was able to bend the Lifestream to her will with relative ease. If the pyreflies and the Lifestream acted in similar ways, then it stands to reason they are almost one and the same type of life essence.**

 **The attires Rikku and Yuna first don in this chapter are their sphere hunter outfits, which implies that this story would be set after the events of _Final Fantasy X-2_. Also, Yuna is shown to have the ability to change back into her Summoner garb, which is a reference to how Leblanc first mimicked Yuna in her Summoner outfit, and then changed into the Songstress dressphere during the opening cinematic of _X-2_.**

* * *

 **Well, that's about enough for now! If you have any ideas of where this story should go in the future, again please feel free to leave a review! I always appreciate suggestions! See you guys next time!**


	8. Second Encounter

Just when she thought she had experienced everything...

It was still quite tough to wrap her head around what was happening to her, but it still was. And she could also bet that even a pinch on her arm would not in any way, awaken her from this madness of a bad dream.

The long trek was no walk in the park for the third team for rescuers, especially Lightning as she continued to follow on after them that had rescued her from the Arch of Shattered Mirrors. While it came at no surprise that they encountered monsters within the first fifteen minutes, the going was still much harder than anticipated.

But then things only got worse when one of the monsters managed to evade death, and Barret deduced that it may be returning back to Sephiroth, which effectively compromised their position to the god himself. Which was now why he was pushing everyone to "mosey on their lazy asses".

Despite the constant genuine concern that Lightning had been directing at Yuffie, who looked like she could pass out from exhaustion at any moment, she also had to agree with Barret's reasoning.

Sephiroth controlled the asteroid they were on, and with all the omnipotent abilities at his fingers, he could appear right in front of them in a blink of an eye. Therefore there was very little time to even consider pausing for a break.

The group was now racing against the clock to get back to their base of operations before Sephiroth founded them, and yet even now Lightning had her reservations about possibly reaching friendly ground in time. And it was not long after that that the same sentiment was starting to spread to other members of the group.

"How much farther have we got to go?" Locke asked wearily, his shoulders were started to sag from the tiredness that was wearing him down.

With another frowned look at his cartogram transmitter, Cid muttered out whilst biting on his cigar bud, "About another 800 ft away."

Removing the cigar from his mouth, he turned around to the others.

"If we can keep up this momentum, we oughta be at 'round ten minutes before we arrive at the barrier."

"Barrier?" Lightning questioned with confused curiosity and cocked her eyebrow.

"Don't worry, Pinky. You'll know it when ya see it," Cid nonchalantly told her as he continued to move along ahead.

He was unaware of the appalled look that Lightning was directing his way, looking none too delighted about the P word.

 _"First Barret, and now Cid?"_ she thought to herself with narrowed eyes and a shake of her head, _"These two must really be begging for a death wish or something."_

Another person who was not at all feeling optimistic was Locke, who was looking worrisome about Sephiroth getting the jump on them.

"If I could ask something?" he spoke out with a raised hand like a student, "If we happen to come across one of the Sons, or Sephiroth in general, do we have a contingency plan for that state of circumstance?"

Barret and Cid shared a look of indecision. The former casted an eye back to the treasure hunter.

"We don't."

He concentrated all his focus on getting back to base as quickly as possible, effectively ignoring the looks of dismay upon the faces of both Locke and Yuffie.

"Yup. That settles it. My life as Yuffie Kisaragi officially comes to an end when Sephiroth swings by," the Wutai Ninha mumbled softly to herself in silent, yet unrestrained panic, "Time to make a full list of my life. All those decisions I regretted ever making, and wishes I had never fulfilled in this life."

As she began rambling softly to herself her entire life story, Locke confronted the inevitability of a last stand with a different approach.

"Well... this is what I've been preparing for my entire career," he lamented with a depressed and resigned sigh.

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small-sized sack. One shake of it was enough for him to hear the jingling sounds of the coins he had collected on his homeworld. Once perceived as just a salary, now it was cherished as a keepsake of everything that he had lost to Sephiroth.

Silently, Locke tossed the sack lightly upwards, and watched as it landed softly back in his palm again. He did so a second time. And then a third. And then a fourth. He smiled wryly as he continued to play around with it, for what could be perhaps his final time.

"A short life and a merry one, in the brotherhood of brigands," he recited a quote from a famous highwayman who perished during his last stand against Gestahl soldiers during the period of the Empire's ascension.

It was said that he died in the middle of a thousand fallen brothers-in-arms, drenched in his own blood, and a thousand arrows and swords in his chest. Truly it was a brutal, gritty death for a scoundrel, but nevertheless it was an act of heroism, to give up a life to ensure the future for all would-be thieves and pirates. It was that brave highwayman whose tale Locke had been inspired by growing up, and now he was going to go out in probably a similar fashion to his hero.

As Lightning looked on at the two of them, on one hand she felt a little exasperated by how overreactive the pair was getting. This was no time to start dumbing down to an overdramatic level, especially since they were technically on the run from Sephiroth.

On the other hand however, she could not help but feel a sense of sorrow and pity for why they were feeling like that. Considering that these people have been trapped aboard this asteroid for a long time now, it was natural for the atmosphere of paranoia and fear to settle in gradually.

Sephiroth was a god after all, and wherever this base of theirs was, if he caught even a whiff of a trace of its existence, that would be the end of the story. He would just charge in and capture or kill every single person that was inhabiting the place at the time.

And considering how powerful and strong the man was, Locke and Yuffie's reasonings for feeling resigned to their fates were not unfounded.

From the way Lightning could put things, their stronghold was perhaps the only safe haven survivors would have against Sephiroth; beyond their boundaries was his turf and jurisdiction.

It was safe to say that Lightning had an idea what she would be up against once she arrived there. Security was going to be strict and tight, meaning no one would be able to wander even a slightest inch beyond the boundaries i.e. the barrier as Cid had mentioned. And if there was some sort of system of rule in place to govern the make-shift "town" of theirs, Lightning was expecting at least some sort of authoritarian control. Meaning that those living there would have to follow every single rule without any disobedience and total compliance.

 _"This day is getting much more interesting by the second,"_ she thought to herself, although she pictured the tone of her inner voice drip in high concentrations of sarcasm.

It was foolish to believe that this was in any way exciting. With Sephiroth's presence being felt all around, this was definitely not a place for the faint of heart.

After they trekked for about another forty minutes with little to almost no action or danger, Cid suddenly raised a hand.

"Halt!" he snapped abruptly, and everyone behind him quickly stopped in their tracks. He put away his transmitter into his bag and turned to the others, "We're here."

This earned him a scornful look from Lightning, who was surveying the area in front of him, which amounted to nothing more than just a dead-end.

"I'm not sure if your map's accurate or you've got some screws loose, but this doesn't scream "barrier" to me," she snapped at Cid in a hypocritical tone.

"And like I told ya, sweetheart," Cid countered back with a lazy wave of a hand, "You'll know it when ya see it."

Lightning folded her arms in unamusement.

"Is that right? The only thing I'm seeing is-"

"Ravages!" Yuffie suddenly exclaimed in sheer terror.

The pink hair quickly spun around in alarm and stared right in the opposite direction of the one-way cavern they had walked into. Sure enough, right at the entrance were a bunch of savage monsters that were starting to pour into the passageway, effectively blocking off their only means of escape.

Barret simply shrugged at the staggering numbers they were facing.

"Well, can't say I'm surprised they've founded us this quickly," he commented and he switched his mechanical arm into its gun mode operations. Turning to Lightning who had her borrowed gunblade at the ready, he asked, "Think ya could use that trick against these creeps again?"

Lightning shot him a steely glare.

"Really? After doing that the first time just to prove myself to you, now you want to cower behind me and use me like a shield?"

She was half-surprised that she did not find any humor from the cruel irony that practically presented itself all wrapped up like a gift.

"In his defense, his "charging in with guns blazing" plan didn't work out well at all," Yuffie spoke out as she held her shuriken close to herself. Then she noticed the man staring at her dumbfounded, and she realised what she had just said.

"... that sounded much better in my head." She quickly added in.

Sighing with a shake of his head out of embarrassment, Barret mumbled softly, "Forget this conversation ever happened, Pinky..."

Lightning let out a huff.

"Hmph. Good. Otherwise you would be reminding me of another brash idiot. Also, the name's _Lightning_."

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Barret moaned with a nonchalant wave of his hand, "Let's just get on with this before I put a bullet in my skull."

"No you wouldn't," Locke piped up, "Not in a million years."

Before he could get another rant from the burly man, the treasure hunter charged forwards, with his daggers at the ready and his eyes narrowed forwards. Simultaneously, Yuffie and Auron followed suit after him, acting as backup.

Making sure that his gun was prepped and loaded, Barret turned to Cid and snapped, "We might need some backup out here! If ya could get reinforcements I would gladly appreciate it!"

Cid removed the cigar from his mouth and dropped it onto the ground.

"Oh, so _now_ I'm important, eh?" he retorted back as he gave the discarded cigar bud a good stomp with the sole of his shoe, "And here I thought somebody said I was _just a nuisance!_ "

Lightning could almost see how red Barret was getting, and it was all that she could do to prevent herself from making a facepalm.

 _"There's no time for this!"_ she growled deeply in thought, her mind going back to the Ravages, and the master that they serve.

Coming in-between the two men, she snapped at them, "Enough! This is not the time to start butting heads with each other! Sephiroth has founded us and we're gonna need every chance we have to take out these monsters before they report to him our location! Do I make myself clear?!"

Barret and Cid continued to glare at one another as her words slowly sank in through their apparently thick-headed skulls. But eventually both parties chose to back down from the other, their responses were silent but clear.

"I'm gonna cool off for a long while once we're done with this," Barret growled under his breath as he started to brisk off towards the ensuing battle.

Cid scoffed back, "Funny, I was just 'bout to say the same thing."

He then stepped up to the wall and went... right through it.

Lightning's eyes widened when she witnessed it happening.

"D-Did... did he just...?" she wondered aloud in absolute shock.

"Hey Lightning!" Locke's voice hollered over the carnage, which captured her attention.

Lightning spun around to witness as Locke struggled miserably to fend off three large monsters. They were, green, tentacled, had anemone-like heads and large mouths that resembled Venus flytraps.

Chancing a terrified look back at the pink hair, he cried out to her frantically, "I think I'm about to become an insect buffet!"

And then all of a sudden, he felt something wrap around his ankle, and he cried out as he was suddenly being tugged upwards into the air. Dangling upside-down like a ragdoll, Locke sheathed his daggers and attempted to free himself from the vice-like grip of the vine tentacle. And then another tentacle grabbed hold of his arm, and another wrapped around his throat. Locke flailed about helplessly, choking for breath as he did, as the three plant monsters looked about ready to rip him into three pieces.

Acting quickly, Lightning raced forward and leapt up into the air. She flew towards Locke in a graceful motion, and then she brought her blade down. In one fell swoop, the tendrils that were holding the treasure hunter were sliced off cleanly, and the monsters roared out in pain as they backed away.

Locke cried out in surprise as he fell back down onto the ground, and met it butt-first with a resounding "oomph!" He quickly shook the throbbing pain off and did a kip-up, only to be met by a Tonberry.

"Not the best time for a reunion, no?" he snarked directly at the Pug as he began clashing daggers with the monster's knife.

Not too far away, Yuffie and Barret were teaming up to hold back the monsters that were still coming in from the entranceway. As the former charged in head-on to take out scores of Ravages with her trusty shuriken and her nimble leaping skills, the latter was providing cover fire from behind in case any of the beasts managed to slink past her.

While they eventually gained further support from Locke, Auron and Lightning who had joined Yuffie upfront and centre of the fray, the odds were slowly shifting against them as time wore on. Even though they were certainly more skilled and powerful than the Ravages, it was slowly becoming apparent that quantity was a huge factor for success rather than quality.

"Sephiroth must want us pretty badly if he's sending us a freakin' legion of these creepazoids!" Yuffie commented as she plunged an end of her shuriken right into the chest of a Tonberry.

"Indeed, although I would suspect that he also wants to be led right to our doorstep," Auron stated in a matter-of-fact tone as he knocked away a Grendal with the hilt of his katana.

Lightning blasted a Firaga spell at a group of monsters and then spoke out of confoundment, "Great, so not only did we screw ourselves, but we also possibly screwed everyone inside the base?"

"Not if we keep at it!" Barret yelled back as he delivered a headbutt to a Goblin, "Countless lives are depending on us to stop Sephiroth's plan!"

His sentence however did nothing to turn the tables back around in their favor.

As the minutes continued to fly by, everyone was starting to reach their limits. Especially for Lightning as she finished off a Bomb creature, although with more strained effort than before. Her eyes trailed over to Barret who had used up the last of his ammo about fifteen seconds earlier, and was now going all in with his brute might and strength.

Out of all of them, he was the only who had not expended most of his physical strength, thanks in part to his constant reliance of his gun arm, so therefore he was technically the only one still able to keep up the momentum.

To someone like Lightning, it always sounded more practical to engage an enemy with a mixture of physical attacks and sprayed bullets, especially since the combination would guarantee twice the damage that either alternative would deal alone.

In this situation however, it would seem that Barret was the one who was playing it smart. Conserve energy until the very last bullet, and then go all in. The effectiveness of his strategy played out as Lightning watched him take out throngs of monsters with his strong punches and powerful kicks. And yet even so, his physical brutality was not even enough to hold back the sheer number of Ravages that continued to file into the cavern. A deduction would have been made that they were probably going to need six more Barrets to hold the line.

Slowly but gradually, the group founded themselves being pushed backwards, all the way to where the wall was. To where Cid had disappeared into.

It meant only one thing, on the other side was the presumed headquarters. Lightning knew that it was only a matter of time before Sephiroth captured everyone. And her thoughts went back to the only party member of the group that was not present. He was supposed to return with reinforcements, wasn't he? He should at least be back by now with some support, any support, anything that could aid them against the monsters.

"Cid should've been back by now!" she addressed alarmingly as she and the others stood in defense at about a few feet away from the wall, staring down the countless waves of Ravages that were starting to close in on their position.

"And my gut instinct's telling me he bailed on us," Locke ruefully muttered with a shake of his head.

Taking the treasure hunter's statement to heart, Yuffie spun on Barret, an angry look suddenly plastered on her face.

"This is all your fault!" she exploded at him with open arms in a dramatic fashion and jabbed a finger right at his chest.

Barret glared back down at her fiercely and questioned, " _My_ fault?"

" _Yes_ your fault! If only you two hadn't started arguing over the LSTS bullshit, we wouldn't be in this predicament!" Yuffie chided further.

"Hey, all I did was mispronounce the term!" Barret defended himself, "It was that chain-smoking faggot who started making such a big deal outta it!"

"Only because you started poking the bear first," Locke chimed in, a disapproving look on his face.

Lightning and Auron saw the mechanized-armed man reddening profusely, his eyelids twitching and his entire bulky form trembling. They exchanged looks with one another, silently agreeing that the treasure hunter just made things worse.

"Oh, you're taking her side too eh?!" Barret blew up the treasure hunter infuriatingly with challenging eyes, "What's next?! Auron and Pinky joins y'all too?!"

"Lightning…" the pink hair muttered in exasperation and shook her head. She was just all about ready to give up by that point. Seriously, was there even a point in trying to correct a stubborn hothead like Barret to begin with? At least she founded comfort in knowing she had better luck at getting past Snow's thick skull.

Auron furrowed his eyebrows at the others that were bickering and reprimanded, "Stow those tongues! They're good as useless if we all perish right here!"

"I think the perishing part begins within the next few seconds," Yuffie griped as she nodded towards the advancing monsters, "It'll take a miracle for us to get out of this alive."

All of a sudden, a dozen or so figures began storming out from the wall, much to surprise of Lightning as she watched them take up defensive positions right in front of them.

"… thank you, Universe!" Yuffie exclaimed happily a second later, much to the annoyance of Barret.

The exhausted group hanged back to recollect their bearings as the new team took their places.

Swiftly they charged forward and began dispatching the monsters one by one. They were working together with such cohesive coordination, Lightning could not help but look on with nothing but amazement and admiration.

What they had done as a team was clearly nothing compared to what the newcomers were doing.

Their attacks were tight and planned out carefully. Their manoeuvres around the returning attacks were seamless and clear-cut. Their attention to every part of their surroundings.

Lightning could bet that not even the Guardian Corps could match up to the efficiency level that this team was displaying.

Leading the charge was a young man who appeared to be just under twenty years of age. He, like his colleagues, wore a formal black uniform that resembled a soldier's garb.

"They are soldiers... like me..." Lightning muttered to herself in sudden realisation, just as the team had finished off the last of the monsters and began gathering back at the wall.

Yet not everyone was happy about the danger that had passed.

From beside Lightning, Barret shot the leader an annoyed glance and snapped, "The hell y'all been?! Don't tell me Cid took his own sweet time to warn ya whilst we got our asses kicked?!"

The leader gave the dark man a narrowed glare, a look of indifference on his features.

"We just got back with a few more stragglers, and I was busy debriefing my team when Cid showed up," he stated bluntly, unaware of Lightning's quirked eyebrows as she listened intently, "At first we contemplated not going out again, considering it would be much riskier with Sephiroth on the prowl... but then Aerith gave us the "look"."

"Yeah..." one of his comrades spoke out from in front of him, a teenage girl who acted as though she had just seen a ghost.

"I tell you that woman's got a spilt personality or something. One moment she's all nice and sweet, and the next she looks like she's contemplating murder," she stated, her tone somewhat wavering amd filled with fear.

Yuffie gave her a simple shrug and a warm pat on the shoulder.

"Eh, part and parcel of hanging around someone who used to live in the slums, Selphie. And if you thought the "look" was scary enough, you wouldn't believe what she could do if she _really_ loses her cool."

"Just like that time when you stole her favourite ribbon?" Barret taunted her, this time with a sly grin for once.

The Wutai Ninja visibly flinched and winced at the same time, as Barret's words stirred back to her mind a traumatic memory.

It was sometime before they had reached Cosmo Canyon during one of their nightly campouts. While the rest had gathered around a fire eating dinner and talking amongst themselves, Yuffie had snuck behind their backs to their tents and began rummaging through all of her friends' personal belongings, hoping she could find anything valuable to trade and/or sell. But that was when _she_ had to show up.

Aerith who had stepped into the tent to collect something from her bag, exchanged wide-eyed stares with the snoopy Ninja. With a nervous giggle and an innocent look, Yuffie attempted to explain that she was trying to find her lucky necklace. A lie that was poorly effective against a keen observer like Aerith. Not once did Yuffie ever wear a necklace. When the Ancient went over and pried open Yuffie's conspicuously closed right hand. Well... the rest as they said was ancient history. The night ended with Aerith's angry tirade going on through the night, echoing all across the landscape.

Ever since then Yuffie had been mentally and emotionally scarred by what could be undoubtedly the most traumatising experience in her life, and she had made absolutely to ensure such a moment would never happen again.

"That was one time..." she mumbled weakly in defence as she played with her fingers half-consciously. There were also a bit of tears that were clinging at the edges of her eyes. She clearly had not yet gotten over that moment entirely.

Lightning stared on at her with a slight upcurving of her lips. This Aerith person sounded interesting. She had to meet with this woman when this was all over. _If_ this was all over.

"Joking aside..." Auron spoke up as he took a step towards the leader, "... It was fortunate that you and your team of SeeD arrived when Commander Leonhart. I feared we would have been in Sephiroth's grasp if you hadn't."

"Hmph. Better watch what you say, it could still happen," Squall replied back thinly.

 _"And happen it shall,"_ a cold, calculative voice suddenly spoke aloud. His voice echoed all around the cavern, and it instantaneously sent shivers down the spines of every person present in the area.

Lightning's eyes narrowed in anger; she knew that voice anywhere else.

"Sephiroth..." she vehemently spat as she turned around to face the silver-haired god, who was standing quite a distance away close to the entrance.

Flanking him were his two Sons Yazoo and Loz, and from either side they were staring down the others with murderous intent.

With widened eyes and confidence waning once she saw him, a paled Selphie mumbled softly to her leader, "Of all the people here... you _had_ to be the one jinx it..."

Squall ignored her comment as he continued to direct his glare to the other end of the cavern.

With an deep sigh of satisfaction, Sephiroth glanced all around at the cavern they were in.

"To think... after all these millennia of searching..." he spoke with an air of foreboding to his voice, "... I finally find your "safe haven" in the last place I would choose to look..."

"I suppose that being a god does have certain limitations when it comes down to the senses," he lamented, "So I'll have to thank my once-and-former puppet for leading me here."

Lightning's eyebrows raised up and her head titled in confusion, while Barret and Yuffie glared daggers directly at the god.

"Puppet?" Lightning wondered to herself, "What does he mean by "puppet"?" And more to the point, _who_ was this puppet that Sephiroth was talking about?

Surely he couldn't be talking about her? Sephiroth said it loud and clear. Once and former. Then would mean that he was talking about someone else that was here on the asteroid. Someone who would logically have the long history with Sephiroth, longer than anyone else that Sephiroth had come across in his lifetime.

Her belief was reinforced once she took a glance at Barret and Yuffie. The way they were positioning themselves. The way their faces contorted into rage at the mere mentioning of the word "puppet". It spoke in volumes that these two clearly know Sephiroth far better than she, and quite possibly Auron, Locke, Squall and his teammates ever did.

So her focus was narrowed down to this pair, at least until she could gain a better grasp of the bigger picture that was being painted before her.

"Don't let him sway you from your focus," Auron suddenly spoke up in a strict tone that snapped Lightning out of her thoughts, "Sephiroth is obviously just trying to get inside your heads."

Squall nodded his head.

"Agreed. Stay sharp, and eyes forward!"

Almost immediately everyone else nodded their heads in agreement and went back to glaring down Sephiroth again. Questions could be saved for later. Right now they had a god to repel from their base.

Loz was slowly becoming impatient by all the stalling chit-chat, and he turned to his paternal parent.

"Father? Why are we wasting time playing 'round with these primates? We should just-"

He was silenced when he noticed a dark look that had crossed his Father's face.

Sephiroth was clearly unhappy that his actions were being questioned by one of his Sons, and that that specific offspring was overstepping his boundaries.

Slit pupils bore down on Loz and pierced right into his soul. Within seconds, the Son's attitude wilted away and became simply just a shaking brute that was filled with nothing but absolute fear.

"S-Sorry..." he apologised with a bow and he took a nervous step backwards. From his side of his Father, Yazoo could only grin in wicked amusement as he watched his brother falter.

Lightning almost felt sorry for Loz. Almost. How nightmarish must it be for a child who stepped out of line to be disciplined by a parent who was as cruel as Sephiroth. Even the thought of possible methods Sephiroth could have used to punish his Sons made her shudder a little.

Turning his attention back to the mortals, Sephiroth spoke out, "As the benevolent god that I am, I have no intentions of killing all of you where you stand. However..."

Lightning watched cautiously as he lifted up his left hand slowly. In a second, his long-bladed katana appeared in a flash of green, and his fingers wrapped tightly around the hilt.

"... seeing you all alive when I had assimilated your souls, has brought you my undivided attention," he finished as he twirled his blade and took on his guard stance, "With that in mind... I believe it is time I had a _talk_ with my people..."

With great feat of strength, he launched himself forth and charged right towards the others with bullet-like speed and accuracy. He came in too quickly for the group to react, and when he brought his blade down right in front of them, the resulting blast force sent them flying into the air. Right through the wall.

Lightning hurtled through the air uncontrollably, and she crashed back down into the ground hard. Almost immediately the pain started to shoot through her body like uncontrolled wildfire, which almost rendered her paralysed to the ground. How she was still able to recover from the blow was still beyond her understanding, but she would take what she could get. Leveraging her weigh onto one knee, she looked up to see as the god stepped right through the wall, his two Sons following close behind.

"Yup..." she uttered hopelessly to herself, "We're so screwed..."

"Gee, you think...?" Yuffie muffled out from beside her. Lightning looked over to her to see that she was lying weakly on the ground, her back facing outwards and her face planted directly against the ground.

"Get up..." Barret growled from not too far away at the two women as he forcefully pulled a disorientated Selphie to her feet.

Squall meanwhile was dusting himself off and glancing down at his other two teammates.

"Zell! Quistis! On your feet now!" he barked hastily as he pointed his gunblade directly at Sephiroth.

With a soft groan, Quistis mumbled out with a blatant wave of her hand, "Like we have it any easier than you..."

As soon as everyone had recovered, they limped back to one another and regrouped. They stared down Sephiroth was still surveying the area they were currently in. Lightning noted the darkened look that suddenly crossed his features.

"A shame that you had to lead me to this pitiful squalor," he commented wryly as he stared at the linear wall behind them that was made entirely out of jagged rocks possibly for defence. He could easily sense the lifeforce of every individual beyond it. "And now the fox will enter the Chocobo coop."

"Yeah? Well you'll find that us chocobos work together in a flock," Barret proclaimed boldly as he balled his fists for a fight, "And a strong flock never lets the coop go down without a fight!"

"For once... I agree with you," Lightning concurred as she poised herself into her attack stance.

Locke smirked as he twirled his daggers in his hands.

"Now this is what I call a brotherhood of brigands."

Squall simply nodded to his team, and they all readied themselves in battle formation.

"If this is where my story finishes its epilogue... let it be here," Auron declared as he tightened his grip on his katana.

Yuffie looked on at the others with slight nervousness and worry, but then she quickly shook those emotions away.

"Well... if I'm gonna die right here..." she muttered as she twirled her shuriken in her hands, "... then I'd better make sure I don't go out like a coward."

Smiling cruelly at his opponents' meager brashness, Sephiroth instructed his Sons, "Bring me their souls."

Yazoo and Loz grinned at each other and happily drew their weaponry.

Both parties challenged the other fiercely for a tense moment, and then like a piece of glass shattering, the first move was made.

Lightning braced herself as she witnessed Sephiroth and his Sons launch themselves right towards them, their weapons out and ready for a massive clash. In turn, she and other heroes charged forth to meet their adversaries head-on.

The brutal clash commenced, with both sides dealing blow after blow to the other.

While the heroes had the upper hand in terms of numbers, the god and his Sons had the edge for strength and power. The battle turned violent and gritty, as the tide was slowly being turned in Sephiroth's favor.

Because Lightning and the others had barely managed to recover their strengths from their encounter with the Ravages, they were worn out relatively quickly.

Squall and his SeeD members attempted to make up for the handicap by teaming up with them and giving them frequent Cures. It was merely a quick-fix.

Eventually, after a few minutes more, Sephiroth and his Sons Loz and Yazoo were standing victorious over the battered and beaten bodies of their opponents.

Lightning was hissing through gritted teeth as she clutched a hand around an open gash in her stomach. The slash did not penetrate too deep into her flesh, but it still hurt like hell. She made a mental note to return the injury back to Yazoo if she somehow made it out of this.

She looked up to Sephiroth, and her blue eyes met those frightening pupils of his. Within them, all she could see was nothing but death and destruction, pain and suffering, misery and despair.

 _"Does he even have any feeling of humanity for the innocence at all?"_ she wondered to herself.

Sephiroth grinned slightly at her as he heard her thoughts.

"I do not take joy in destroying all those worlds I had conquered, but it was a necessity to further my own goal. However, when I have established a brand new world of my making, the meaning of life will have a new comprehension by those that will worship me."

"And by "those", that would be you and every other insignificant speck upon this soil," Yazoo added in with a sickening chuckle.

Hearing this further made Lightning feel sick to her stomach.

Sephiroth was _that_ willing to just mould innocent lives to be part of his collective? To brainwash people into giving him praises for their supposed salvation?

"You may be a god now, and you may no longer be untouchable by mortal standards..." Barret growled at him, "But I've got news for ya, pal. No matter how much bullshit you'll be willing to stuff into our fucked up brains, know that eventually, choice will ultimately win out."

Sephiroth was unfazed by his warning, and he simply smiled thinly at him.

"Well Barret Wallace... I see you haven't lost your charisma and your stubbornness to survive. Once I've reabsorbed your life essence into my person, I will be looking forward to having an audience with the rest of your companions."

"Like hell you will!" Yuffie spat back in defiance, her fists clenched so tightly in anger that the whites of her knuckles could be seen, "All you want is to turn us all into your mindless servants and make Cloud your plaything toy again!"

"Hey! Don't talk back to Father like that!" Loz snapped defensively, but then Sephiroth sharply raised up a hand, silently ordering him to stand down.

Turning to the Wutai Ninja, he intoned, "Truly it is also a pleasure to see you again, Miss Kisaragi. I see that you haven't changed much from that immature girl I had seen all those years ago. Your father would have been ashamed to see you the way you are. Then again he truly was a coward to concede defeat and turn your home into an pathetic attraction. I can see why you both are similar."

Yuffie's eyes twitched slightly upon hearing her father being mentioned, and all the bitterness she had bottled up inside began spilling out in droves. Unbeknownst to her however, Sephiroth was subtly adding fuel to the fire, as he manipulated her most darkest memories to replay in her mind over and over again. Until she finally cracked. With a cry of unchecked rage, she picked up her shuriken and charged right towards the god.

She was met with a light kick from Sephiroth's boot which sent her flying back to where Lightning was. Even though the kick looked weak and gentle, Lightning was shocked to see that Yuffie was knocked out cold. Sephiroth must have hit her in the head.

Grinning in satisfaction, Sephiroth lightly swung his blade around a little, and the air resistance against the metal produced an ominous humming song that made chill run down the spines of everyone else. Even Lightning was affected by this, as she felt something. An emotion that she had not felt in a long time.

Fear.

"Now that we have the pleasantries out of the way..." he declared with a tone of restrained ecstasy, "... it is time that we get back to business."

He then raised his free hand, and a glowing dark-green mist began to billow out from his palm.

Sephiroth's eyes gleamed murderously.

"Once I have gotten to the bottom of this resurrection mystery, I will ensure that the anomaly causing this will be covered up. Permanently."

He stretched out his hand towards the heroes, and Lightning could only watch in weakness and helplessness as a blast of energy was being shot.

Everything went black.

* * *

 **Cliffhanger!**

 **So it looks like things are back to square one for Lightning again, with her ass being handed to her by the One-Winged Angel himself. How will she and her new unlikely allies get out of this?**

 **Unfortunately however... that will have to wait for sometime since I will be quite busy for a while. But I assure you, as soon as I have ample free time again, I will post another chapter! Maybe sometime soon we'll get back to see what our beloved XV characters are up to back on Eos whilst all the shenanigans going on in outer space.**

 **Until next time fellow readers!**


	9. A Tense Regrouping

**And... WE'RE BACK!** **Apologies for the wait, it took me a while to draft this all out, but I hope that this super-long one is worth the wait.**

 **To reiterate from the update, for those who have skimmed through this story previously, I encourage you to go back and re-read some of the chapters that I had made adjustments to. The reason being that I do not wish to cause confusion with regards to the chapters that I will post in the future that may or not tie up with the ones I've already written.**

 **With that said, please sit back enjoy!**

* * *

On a normal, regular night like this, the town of Lestallum would be bustling with much activity. With stores lining up on every road, friendly street vendors and whimsical musicians, every single person that lived or visited there, young and old, man and woman, all relished in the peace and tranquility that the serene-like atmosphere that Lestallum brought with it.

And then all it took was for one single person to shatter it like fragile glass once he caught sight of the cohort of mysterious people that had gathered in the middle of the car park, that was now suddenly filled with a couple more cars than prior.

Like falling dominoes, the word began to spread around, until about thirty minutes later when the crowd started to gather at the main road close to the railings that overlooked the car park below. In the next fifteen minutes that followed after, the crowd size began twice as large as the group that was convening amongst ... almost all of them.

With exhausted and weary eye staring at the buzzing bystanders, Monica did her best to maintain her stoic expression even as she tried to refocus herself on those that had answered the call of the Marshal to assemble here in from members of the Crownsguard that had survived the fall of Insomnia, to dozens of Hunters that were still loyal to the Crown, it was clear that she presumably had her hands full with organising each and every single one of them.

And yet while she was hating to even admit to herself, on the inside Monica was silently pleading and praying to the gods at the same time for the crowd to go away and mind their own business. She already had enough on her plate trying to organise the existing parties at the current time – she could not afford to expend her time on dispersing the crowd as well.

The Marshal had given her an order, and when he phoned her using a rather stricter tone than usual, she knew it meant that it needed to be done as quickly and proficiently as humanly possible. He would be arriving soon, alongside the Oracle Lady Lunafreya and Prince Noctis' royal retinue and she would hate for him to arrive to a public spectacle that would have added on to his ever-so-high levels of stress.

Just when she was contemplating sending out the Crownsguard to go herd away the crowd, her ears picked up a familiar humming sound of a flying airship. A Niflheim Magitek engine to be more precise.

With widened eyes of terror, Monica turned sharply around, joining with the rest her fellow associates and the public in seeing a lone airship coming in close to where they were currently situated at.

Almost immediately, people began to scream and gasp in fright, knowing full well that a Magitek engine can easily be distinguished with the Empire. And whenever the Imperials dropped by, a trail of destruction was sure to follow not too close behind, as evident from the last time they showed up to kill an innocent old man.

Acting out of instinct, the entirety of Crowndsguard and Hunters began mobilising into battle formation, their weapons all out and at the the traitorous Kingsglaive, they were fiercely loyal to the royal family of Lucis to the core and were prepared to die if necessary to defend the Crown from the jaws of the Empire.

As everyone watched with tension hanging in the breeze of Lestallum, the red-painted Magitek engine began a gradual descent down towards the carpark, their passive aggression growing ever more as the distance between both parties closed.

Once it was close enough to the ground for its riders to disembark safely, the airship slowed to a halt, the roaring of its Magitek engines filling the quiet atmosphere and making the winds blow in every direction around with the harsh air blowing against her form, Monica chanced a couple of steps forward, her hand raised up and ready to give the order for her men to attack.

So far there was no sign of the Marshal and the Prince's companions, but she was hoping they would show up soon to give them the extra support. Far too many towns and settlements had been decimated in part due to involvement from the Empire, and Monica would be damned if one more would be left in rubble and dust because of the Imperials.

A dreary silence hung over the car park for a few moments, and then there was a hiss of the front ramp of the Magitek airship as it began to open on cue, the Crownsguard and Hunters took a step forward and readied themselves in their attack stances, their eyes narrowed and lour towards the lowering ramp.

Steeling herself for what was to come, Monica inhaled deeply, her determined eyes never leaving the airship as the fingers of her raised hand twitched slightly against the chill of the winds. She was waiting patiently, for just the right moment to cue her comrades to advance.

The wait was agonising, like the gods themselves were slowing down time to delay the inevitable. It was safe to say that if they were not kind towards humanity, they would have considered this entertainment. But since they were on the side of the Lucian Crown and those that rallied behind it, Monica was inwardly praying that a miracle would happen.

Eventually, the ramp had moved low enough for everyone to view the interior of the airship, and then a few moments later, its occupants. The first to step out of the shadows was a middle-aged man with short, brown hair, and light blue eyes that emanate his years of combat and experience upon the grand stage of the theatre of war.

His story was truly one of legend, filled with many life-threatening tales, which made him a living legend in his own "Immortal" as his title goes.

Which was why many eyes began widening in surprise upon seeing him descending down the ramp relatively unharmed. If he were more lax in character, he would have started laughing at all their reactions right now.

Monica stared at him in absolute bewilderment, realising that she was merely a hair's breadth away from signalling her men to attack. She gazed up to her raised arm and quickly wondered to herself why was she still holding it up for. But instead of putting it down though, she chose instead to signal the Crownsguard and Hunter to lower their weapons, which they hastily did before standing at attention in the presence of the Marshal.

As Cor continued to disembark from the airship, following not too close behind at his heels were Lady Lunafreya, who started to have the gathering public gasping and gossiping amongst themselves with a mixture of excitement and concern, and Noctis' entourage, or rather, his remaining members. Ignis narrowed his eyes slightly down at the gathering associates of the Crown, Aranea was discussing something behind him with Gladiolus. Unfortunately they were speaking in hushed tones that Ignis was not able to pick up easily.

As he stopped right in front of Monica, he chanced a glance at the crowd at the main road. He then looked back to Monica and commented wryly, "Quite a welcoming committee you've managed to gather up." Monica sighed and bowed her head before him.

"Apologies, Marshal. The situation got out of hand rather quickly. We had not intended to cause such a stir upon arrival."

Cor shook his head and waved a hand."It's quite alright. I reckon Lady Lunafreya will take care of it."

Monica gave him a curious look before he gestured with his head behind him. Turning around, she saw Lunafreya as she headed over towards the public, probably preparing to give them a speech about what had happened in Altissia and answer whatever questions that they had.

It was then that the Marshal formed a frown on his face, taking notice that one specific group of individuals were not amongst those that had gathered at the carpark.

Calling for Monica's attention again, he asked her, "Where are they?"

Monica raised a brow at this in confusion. "I-I'm sorry, sir?"

"Where are the Kingsglaive?" Cor questioned her sternly.

It took Monica a while to form a response of her own, and it was quite a painstaking process, as memories of Insomnia's fall replayed in her mind. With a sigh of sadness, she looked him directly in the eyes and got right to the point.

"Unfortunately, Marshal, although a message was sent to them to assemble, none of them gave a response of any kind."

Hearing this, Cor could only purse his lips in disappointment. In a way he should have anticipated this, considering the role they had to play in Niflheim's attack in Insomnia. They had been branded traitors, the whole lot of them. The Kingsglaive had turned their backs on King Regis, turned their backs on the gods, and turned their backs on the kingdom that had protected them from the Empire all these years.

And yet even with all these valid reasons to grow spiteful against these turncoats, Cor had also felt a bit hopeful. Hopeful that maybe just maybe, there had been at least a handful of Glaives that were still loyal to Lucis.

After all, on the way here from Altissia, Lunafreya had recounted on her experience during the Fall.

She spoke of a brave Glaive who had sacrificed himself to ensure the survival of both herself and the Ring of the Lucii until his very last breath, how he had used the powers of the Kings of Yore to call upon the Old Wall the end the attack on the city. And then there was another Glaive who had helped escort her out of Insomnia, but there was nothing much to say of him since only she had a brief period of time with him before they went on their separate ways.

But then logic dashed those hopes as well. If those Glaives that had betrayed Lucis wanted to help the Empire in anyway that they could, the most logical thing for them to do was to take out the King's allies first. And that meant the loyal Glaives that had been caught by surprise, especially during the mission to rescue the Oracle.

By that account, what Monica really meant say was "Most of the loyal Glaives had been killed during the attack on the city. The survivors are remaining in the shadows."

Thus he had to make do with what resources that they had. Even with the Hunters, their entire party was still relatively small, but Cor was determined to make the most of it while he still could. Wherever Noctis was at the moment, he knee that he was counting on all of them to prepare for his imminent return to Eos, as well as that Sephiroth stranger that his friends had discussed with him earlier.

With a short but hefty nod, Cor stated, "Right. Then we'd better get to work."

A sentiment that was shared by Monica as her features darkened into considerable seriousness. Too much time was already being wasted on flapping their lips. Officially, every second that was being used to prepare for Sephiroth's invasion was considered precious.

As the pair began heading off to address the gathering Crownsguard and Hunters, Noctis' two remaining friends and Aranea lingered further behind close to the latter's Magitek engine, clearly deep in their own seperate coversation.

"So, do you think Noct's alright?" Gladiolus asked both Ignis and Aranea, his usual gruff voice laced with worry and uneasiness.

Ignis adjusted his spectacles and folded his arms.

"Considering that she and Noct has been close friends for a long time, I am willing to trust Lady Lunafreya as far as I can throw her. She did mention that the Tide Mother foresaw his part in shaping the future of Eos."

And he also could not deny how confident the Oracle had sounded when she spoke to them thr very same words, how her eyes glistened with much hope that their world could survive this Sephiroth character.

"I still have doubts regarding this whole ordeal," Aranea muttered, feeling rather disconcerted.

"Little doubt about that," Gladiolus commented wryly, forming a half smirk as he noticed her nervous expression, "You're shaking like a leaf Commodore."

Aranea waved a hand and sighed out, "Can you blame me for being on edge? I mean, our fancy Prince has been taken into outer space. _Outer. Space._ In a floating asteroid fortress no less. And now you're all saying that Eos is about to be attacked by a _god?_ "

She folded her arms and took a step closer to the pair.

"As much as I want to believe that this is all some sort of fucked up little nightmare that the Starscourge is giving us, if the Oracle speaks out in volumes of seriousness, and if what happened in Altissia is anything go by, then we've got a real problem on our hands."

Gladiolus nodded his head, his brief moment of making light of the situation gone as he resumed his normal countenance.

Just then, the trio heard the stern tone of the voice of the Marshal calling out to them, "Ignis! Gladiolus! Commodore! Get over here!"

They turned to face him, as well as the others as they all had their focus shifted on their position.

With a simple gesture of his head, Ignis started heading off towards the main group, walking in a more brisked pace than he ever did. As Gladiolus and Aranea raced to catch up with the bespectacled Royal Advisor, the former could not help but notice the tone shift on the gazes of the Crownsguard and Hunters.

Most if not all of them were starting to give off rather antagonistic glares that (unsurprisingly) were being directed at one particular person.

With a slight chuckle, Gladiolus nudged with his elbow the person right beside him who was in-question.

"Looks like you've got yourself a lil' fan club, Commodore."

Aranea stared on ahead at the wary crowd, but she replied back, "And you'll get yourself an amputated arm if you elbow me again."

She made it feel as threatening as she possibly could, but another soft chortle from the strong man was evident enough that he wasn't taking her threat all too seriously.

 _"He's got a large pair in-between his legs, I'll give him that,"_ she thought to herself with a shake of her head.

In her mind she was thinking on ways that she could do to bruise the bastard's pride, but not too much else his royal Highness wouldn't have a Shield to cower his kingly ass behind.

Once the trio were in arm's distance of the Marshal, he spoke out to them, especially Ignis and Gladiolus, "Brought everyone up to speed on the situation, but since Lady Lunafreya's currently occupied with the public, I figured you'll have the honors of providing all the details on what we're up against here."

He stepped away to one side, a gesture to cue Ignis and Gladiolus to step forth and address the patiently-waiting men and women.

Gladiolus felt rather anxious as to what they were supposed to say. Would they all believe what Serah told them about Sephiroth? Or would they all dismiss it as some foolish fantasy daydream and refocus their time and effort on the Empire? He chanced quick glance at Ignis, silently hoping that he had a way to convince the Hunters and the Crownsguard, especially since he was never really trained in long and formal speeches as well as handling big crowds.

As though he had sensed his uneasiness, Ignis glanced back at him, and his lips formed a thin but reassuring smile.

In Gladiolus' head he swore he could almost hear the Advisor's voice speaking to him telepathically, _"At ease, my friend. You need not worry about this. I'll handle the talking part."_

Letting go a hitched breath that he never knew that he had been holding in, Gladiolus gave him a short nod of thanks and wishing him the best of luck. In turn Ignis reciprocated the nod and stepped forth to the group that had gathered around to hear what he was going to say.

Briefly glancing at each and every person that were giving him their one-hundred percent attemtion, Ignis drew in a deep breath and then began to speak.

"Fellow members of the Crownsguard and Hunters. By now, I am certain that all of you have been apprised of what had taken place in Altissia."

As expected, many were nodding their heads in response, their face evidently and understandably still in disbelief at what had happened after the rite with Leviathan.

"With regards to the current whereabouts of the soon-to-be King of Lucis, I regret to report... that it is true that he is no longer on Eos."

Reactions to this announcement were mixed. There were all forms of gasps, and murmurs that began to spread all around. How could they have lost another King in just under a month?

"Now I am certain that some of you may have doubts about the future of Eos, but I implore you not to lose hope!" Ignis continued speaking, his voice reverberating strongly amongst the men and women, loud enough even to catch the attentoon of the public crowd and a surprised Lunafreya as she joined the rest in listening to his words.

"The Oracle Lady Lunafreya has brought forth a message from the Hydraean, and through her the Goddess of the Seas has foresaw that a deity named Sephiroth will descend from the heavens, with malicious intent to assmilate all life on Eos into his collective."

At once people became horrified by his proclamation, and the murmurs resumed. While he could not make out every sentence, Ignis was certain that they were all fearful for their lives. And why shouldn't they feel that way? He could sympathise with their predicament. Anyone would be doing the same thing if they were told that the world was possibly coming to an end.

"Yet in the face of such an apocalypse, there is still hope!" Ignis brought everyone's undivided attention back to him, "While the Hydraean has been cryptic in her message, she has also foresaw that the King himself would be playing a part in shaping the ultimate fate of our world. By that account we must assume that His Majesty will be returned to us in due time, but until then we must stand firm, stand strong, and prepare ourselves for the fight of our lives! For the deity that we face harbors a darkness even more dangerous than the Starscourge ever is, and he will not stop until he gets what he so desires. To that end, on behalf of His Majesty the King, I hereby declare a state of emergency. The challenge ahead may be seemingly almost impossible to overcome, but lest we forget, countless lives are counting on us. To protect and safeguard the future!"

Within seconds a sea of small cheers and claps began surging throughout the Crownsguard members and the Hunters, even some from the public crowd were also applauding.

Ignis could not help but let a smile form at his lips. Certainly with his hopeful words, the masses of Lucis, Noctis' people, would live out the next couple of days filled with hope instead of fear and resignation. Otherwise Noctis was going to have a hard time handling this massive headache upon his return.

One last draw of breath, Ignis prepared himself to end of his speech the only he knew how.

"Stand with us, fellow brothers and sisters in-arms! Together we are united as one! To fight Sephiroth! And for the honour and glory of the Kingdom of Lucis!"

All at once, deafening roars welled out from the mouths of newly rejuvenated members of the Crownsguard and Hunters, some even pumping their fists with renewed energy. Then came thunderous applause from the public, and their cheers joined the chorus of the roars in harmonious fashion.

One thing was certain, it was probably the most memorable thing Ignis had experienced in his life. For the budding Advisor to the Prince who had barely even been tested under actual circumstances beforehand, this was truly a moment of triumph. If only his uncle would have lived to see this. He would most definitely have been proud of his achievement, as much as Cor, Gladiolus and Lunafreya were feeling right now.

As he stepped back to where the other two males were, Gladiolus gave hima light pat on the shoulder.

"One helluva speech you made, Iggy," he praised with a proud grin, "What you got in store for an encore, huh?"

Ignis chuckled softly under his breath.

"Maybe advertising for the next flavor of Ebony, if they will allow me."

"Wouldn't imagine you going that far, Four-Eyes," Aranea commented with behind him, "Reckon you could become an ambassador of sorts."

Ignis turned to look at her.

"Oh? And what do you suppose I'll be representing?"

Aranea cocked her head and tapped her chin with a finger, as though she was really thinking seriously about what his profession could be.

"Maybe as a seamstress." Was her reply.

In almost a second, Ignis could hear restrained grunts coming from beside him. He turned and gazed at Gladiolus with questioning eyes as the big man attempted to refrain from laughing aloud at his expense.

 _"Hilarious..."_ he thought to himself with a unamused scowl on his features.

He turned back to the Commodore and said with a forced calmness, "There is a general term for "seamstress", Aranea. And no, I do not make clothes for Noctis. My job deacription extends far beyond that at a more sophisticated degree."

Aranea formed a small 'O' with her mouth and she was nodding her head feigning surprise.

 _"I do not like where this is heading..."_

"Oh... so you're a _butler_ then?"

Ignis flinched painfully as Gladiolus's laugh escaped his lips in full force, which had many curious eyes turning towards them, making the situation more awkward than it needed to be.

To add more insult to injury, much to his chagrin Ignis took notice from the corner of his eyes, Cor folding his arms and looking away, but his facial expression betrayed whatever action he wanted to convey. A smile was trying to sneak onto his lips and his shoulders were shaking upwards and downwards.

"I'm starting to regret ever making that speech..." Ignis mumbled softly under his breath, just enough for the others to not hear him. Thank the gods at least Lunafreya, Noctis and Prompto were not in on the humiliation.

Understandably the latter two were still in space, whilst the Oracle had resumed conversing with the public. But he also had to be mentally prepared. Noctis and Prompto would be returning to Eos eventually, and he swore to high heavens he was going to stop Gladiolus from bursting open his big fat mouth if it was the last thing he did. Those two would only prolong the embarassment he was now getting at the receiving end.

Noticing how red the Advisor's face was getting, Aranea ceased her giggling and reached out with a hand.

"Relax Specs, I know you ain't a seamstress or a butler," she said assuredly, her hand firmly gripped onto his shoulder, "But you really ought to consider doing something you like outside of your official job title. A hobby if you're comfortable with that."

Ignis sighed deeply, mentally forcing his cheeks to srop flushing too much.

"I would take that into consideration someday. Once things have settled down with this whole Sephiroth ordeal."

The mercenary frowned slightly at this, clearly not pleased with how Scientia had turned the light-hearted conversation back to the more serious issue at hand.

With a defeated huff, she commented coldly, "Sometimes you get yourself too worked up, Four-Eyes. You've suddenly taken a massive task that you barely have experience in."

Ignis gave her a frown of his own.

"Someone has to take leadership and keep a cooler head in the face of this crisis whilst Noctis is far off in space doing gods'-knows-what."

Aranea removed her hand from his shiulder and stared at him with eyes that have been emptied of all the joyfulness of minutes earlier.

"You better not let your duty sap away whatever sprightliness you've got left inside that thick skull of yours. I would hate to have to see His Royal Highness see his Advisor bear the burden all by himself instead of shouldering it with those who want to share it with him."

Without another word, she turned and started marching off back to her Magitek engine, although from Ignis' point-of-view she was storming off with trembling clenched fists. He groaned with fingers rubbing at his temples, frustrated at just how sour the atmosphere instantly got within those few minutes of conversing.

He was growing angry, but not because Aranea's words had cut so deep into his soul wirh deadly precision. Ignis was angry at himself. Here was Aranea, attempting frivolity of a rather harrowing crisis just to lift everyone's spirits up, and what did he do? He crossed a line and shoved her playful nature back in her face, as though her jokes were negligable.

Just because of his total focus on the task at hand, he may have dug himself a wedge between himself and Aranea, and a very deep and steep one even though they had barely knew one another. And when you cross a woman who was a mercernary and a leader of the Empire, then you knew for certain that you were going to be in for a rough time ahead.

But then he thought over the words that she said mentioned to him.

 _"You've suddenly taken a massive task that you barely have experience in."_

As Ignis continued to dwell deep in his thoughts, Gladiolus who had been watching the entire conversation go south, came up close to his side and gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Iggy. If you've got any worries or if you feel that the load's too much to handle, I'll always be here to back you up," he told his bespectacled friend with an assuring smile.

Ignis glanced to him and stared in silence for a few moments. He blinked slowly before he stared on ahead to the Crownsguard and Hunters, as well as the public crowd.

With a sigh, he asked Gladiolus, "Do you think I can do it?"

"Hmm?" Gladiolus hummed questionably with a raised eyebrow.

"Do you think I can be a good leader, in Noct's stead? I AM his advisor after all," Ignis specified, his eyes glistening with hesitation against the pale moonlight, acting as though he just now realised what he had gotten himself into.

Gladiolus pursed his lips tightly at this, unknowing of what he was going to say about this. Usually he would make a snarky comment or a joke or simply give casual words of encouragement to help his companions move things along without having to worry too much. But that was on a normal day when they were driving all around the continent, before everything went 180° in Altissia. Compared to then (which was merely just days ago), they were now shifting their focus from one major threat to an extremely dangerous situation that could lead all of Eos into peril. From the Empire, all talk was now about Sephiroth and the end of the world. Not to mention that Noctis and Prompto were not there presently.

Ignis was a naturally-gifted leader in his own way, considering the multiple number of times he had been able to take charge of any battle that they came across against the wild beasts of the continent, the Magitek Troopers as well as the daemons.

But taking temporary command of an _entire army?_ That was an entirely different story altogether.

As far as he knew, Ignis had formal training as an Advisor to everything that... well, a Royal Advisor ought to be doing. And that also included taking lead in the King's duties should he be unable to do so because of something that happened, including sickness or a visit to another kingdom or country. But never had he imagined Ignis immersing himself as a military leader. Even King Regis himself couldn't have imagined Ignis in such a role, considering that his uncle had also never experienced the bloodiness of the front lines of war.

"Well... it all depends on what's your end goal," the voice of the Marshal pulls him out of his thoughts, and Gladiolus turned to look at the man as he resumed that stoic expression.

With piercing light blue eyes that bore right into Ignis' own, Cor stated, "If I remember correctly Scientia, you said that you had a reason for wanting to join the Crownsguard, did you not?"

Ignis' eyes widened slightly at his statement, and a breathless gasp escaped from his open mouth. And yet he remained silent as he stared down at the ground.

"You had so much confidence, so much passion for wanting to become the General to the King," Cor continued to recount, "And that was just four years ago. So tell me, what has happened since then to cause such a change in your stance and attitude?"

With clenched fists and front teeth biting at his lower lip, Ignis looked back up to the Marshal.

"Times have changed, and so have my ambitions," he responded briefly.

Cor's brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed in a mix of disbelief and disappointment at his response.

"Now you're starting to sound like the Prince."

Gladiolus now felt the inclining to speak out and balance out the sour conversation, but just as he started to part his lips, there was the sound of car honking. As everyone turned around, they watched as a large yellow-coloured pick-up truck drove its way out of Lestallum's entrance/exit tunnel and drove close the railings of the main road.

Because of its relative large size, a handful of those in the public crowd were to move out of the way so as to not block the vehicle, some of them were sprung into action against their will by the loud honks, thanks to a familiar grouchy mechanic who was sitting beside his niece as she was driving. He consistently reached across and slammed (or rather punched) a fist onto the wheel and grumbled obscenities under his breath.

With an exasperated shake of his head, Cor muttered to himself, "Guess some things never change..."

And without another word to Noctis' silent advisor, he walked off towards the main road. Gladiolus breathed a sigh of relief, happy that the moment was over for now.

Gazing with concern towards his friend, he asked him quietly, "You alright?"

Ignis stared blankly at the ground for a few minutes, before he muttered back, "None the worse for wear."

Gladiolus was unconvinced by his assurance, but he chose to let it slip by, understanding that Ignis needed time to adjust to his new role for the time being.

"Just give it a while, hmm?" he advised him, "Eventually it'll be like concocting up some new... _recipeh_."

Hearing the R word that just came out weird from Gladiolus' mouth, Ignis let out a soft chuckle.

"That's not how I normally enunciate that word, but it's close enough to suffice lightening my mood."

Gladiolus was also laughing a little bit at his terrible pronounce.

"What can I say? There's the Iggy way of saying things, and then there's the _Gladio_ way of saying things."

Ignis stroked his chin thoughtfully, now back to being his normal self.

"Hmm... then what would be the Noct and Prompto ways of saying things?"

Gladiolus grinned widely and folded his arms.

"How's about "Vegetables are pure evil" and "Selfie and Gear Goddess worship"?"

The pair laughed even louder at the phrases, knowing that Noctis and Promtpo would be outright embarassed by how true those insults were.

Just then however, both of them heard loud shouts coming from the crowd, and they turned to see what was the commotion.

Within seconds, both Ignis and Gladiolus could make out Cor heading right back in their direction, his face seemingly scrunched up in apparent annoyance and even he was trying miserably to cover it up.

Following close at his heels were where the shouts were coming from. Iris and Cid were constanly hollering at the Marshal - both clearly unhappy about what the man did during the Altissia dilemma. As they got closer, the seentences became much more audible and clear.

"You've a lot of explaining to do for _stranding_ me in Caem, Cor!"

"That was a reckless endeavour, you ol' lout! Chasin' and gallivantin' after that damn space rock like ya did!"

"You hopped onto a Niflheim airship like that and took off without another word like it's some sort of daily routine! How else did you think I supposed to make of that?! You had me worried believing that the Imperials kidnapped you, you know?!"

"And don't get me started on what you did after you lost the Prince! Tellin' me to meet ya here in Lestallum in _a couple hours!_ Ya think I've got hyperdrive fuels in storage?! Cindy was forced to break a couple traffic laws just to get here on time! And the Amicitia girl you left behind with us was houndin' on my ass the entire trip too for the rough ride!"

The voices were too mixed to seperate apart, but it was enough to visibly make Cor close his eyes tightly and rub his head with his hands.

"Looks like the night's getting lively," Aranea's voice suddenly spoke up from behind, and Ignia and Gladiolus jumped in startling surprise as they turned to face her.

The mercernary smirked slyly at their expressions, her spite with Ignis earlier quickly forgotten.

"I'll bet 400 gil that man won't get any good sleep tonight," she challenged.

Gladiolus gave a cocky huff as he replied, "Oh yeah? Then you better cough it up right now. 'Cause the Marshal can sleep at 2am and still wake up at 6 still looking rejuvenated."

Aranea shrugged, "Would if I could, Buff Man, but unfortunately I've still to collect my pay from the Empire."

Ignis' eyebrows quirked up and he took a step forward.

"You do not seriously intend to go back to the Empire after all that has happened?" he questioned her.

Aranea frowned slightly as she turned to him.

"And what's wrong with collecting my paycheck, Specs?"

"I highly doubt that anyone from the Empire would not have seen you aiding us in trying to rescue Noctis. So there's a high probability of you already being branded as a traitor."

To this the Commodore scoffed lightly, acting like this was nothing new to her.

"So be it then," she stated with a surprisingly relieved grin, "Hated working for those nutjobs anyway. Besides, I thought of my position in their High Command as more of a "part-time" routine."

Before more words could be exchanged, Cor finally arrived at where they were, his normal demeanor already having cracked under the stress of having to endure two forms of admonishments.

"I swear to the Astrals..." he mumbled under his breath as he nursed his throbbing skull, "Today's been full of nothing but headaches. I think I won't be able to get enough rest tonight."

Gladiolus stared hard him in absolute bewilderment, clearly not expecting this change in mood from the Marshal himself. A man who had always prided himself for his calm and strict demeanor as well as his unchallenged prowess.

And then he heard Aranea coughing sharply to get his attention. He slowly turned to her to see her smirk and her open palm out to him.

"What was it you said about the Marshal's sleeping habits again?" she rhetorically asked with a chuckle.

Realising what this meant, Gladiolus groaned in defeat and muttered curses under his breath as he begrudgingly shelled out 400 gil from his pocket and handed the money over to the patiently waiting mercenary. Was that the second time today that he had lost a bet? Lady Luck clearly was unhappy about something that concerned him.

Having heard her speaking, Iris peeked over from behind the Marshal's shoulder to see who it was. Upon seeing Aranea, she also caught sigh of her brother. Her eyes widened exponentially.

"Gladdy!" she exclaimed joyfully and she broke into a sprint towards him.

Gladiolus turned around to view her, and he was immediately reminded that his sister was here as well. He grinned widely as she approached him and opened up his beefy arms, allowing Iris to run in for a full embrace.

"Iris!" he greeted warmly as he pulled her close to his chest, chuckling as he felt her snuggling her head into his burliness.

"I'm so glad you're alright!" Iris exclaimed happily, even though her voice was muffled since her face was planted into his chest, "I was so worried about you guys when I heard over the radio..."

And then as though she remembered, her head tilted upwards sharply, allowing Gladiolus to see the worry that was suddenly eteched upon her face.

"About Noct..." she mumbled softly, "Is everything that they said... true?"

And just like that, Gladiolus' grin fell from his face, replaced by a more sullen expression. Oh boy...This was going to be hard to break it to his sister slowly. He had known for a long time that Iris had a bigger crush on Noctis than any other girl in Insomnia, so there was no doubt about what she was going to feel within the next few seconds.

With a deep sigh, he muttered softly, "It's true... he's been kidnapped and taken into outer space."

Iris stared at him in total radio silence for a brief moment, tears had formed at the corners of her eyes, ready to spill out like a leaky faucet.

"I would laugh if it were a joke..." she mumbled, her features laced with sorrow and despair, "But do you think Noct's alright?

Gladiolus' looked away in an aimless direction and then he closed his eyes.

"According to Lady Luna, Noct's gonna come back eventually. Something about having a role in shaping the future of Eos. Until then however, Ignis volunteered himself to lead the Crownsguard and Hunters to preparing for Sephiroth's arrival."

"S-Sephiroth?" Iris questioned with a tilt of her head in confusion, "Who's that?"

Gladiolus pursed his lips, realising that he now had to go on a long-winded explanation about what Serah said to him and his friends back in Altissia. But just as he opened his mouth to respond, he heard more arguing voices shouting aloud.

With a roll of his eyes, he grumbled out, "The hell's going on now?"

Both siblings looked to watch as Cid went off on another ranting tirade, the brunt of his rage now being directed on an unamused Aranea as she simply stood there with folded arms, watching the mechanic make a fool out of himself like there was no tomorrow. Cor on the other hand was standing off to one side, his face buried in his hands, clearly having given up trying to stay on the positive side of life.

With a roll of his eyes, Gladiolus said to Iris, "Sorry sis, looks like your big bro's gotta step in and help the poor Marshal placate the angry old mechanic."

Hearing her brother's mentioning of the Marshal triggered something in Iris, and her saddened face scrunched up into an angry one.

"Oh yeah? Then here's a challenge for you, Gladdy!" she suddenly exclaimed, having remembered why she was angry with Cor.

Before Gladiolus could stop her, Iris stormed all the way to Cor, yelling her head off as she did so. Cor narrowed his exhausted eyes at her and turned on his heels and began storming off, his fingers comically plugging up his ears as he did so.

Iris chose to chase after the man anyway, chiding him again for leaving her (and Talcott) in Cape Caem, not even caring if her raging attracted the attention of others that were close by.

With a roll of his eyes in exasperation, Gladiolus made his way over to Cid and Aranea, taking their argument as the top priority.

As he stopped next to them, he asked in a serious tone, "Alright, what's goin' on here?"

As she stifled a silent yawn that escaped her mouth, Aranea glanced his way and said, "Oh great, next shift's here. Do me a favour and take extra precaution with this old nutjob, will ya?"

Cid glared daggers right at the mercenary.

"Oh you ain't gonna get off that easily, ya damned Imperial! You got another thing comin' if ya believe you can sli'her 'way back to the Niffs and report our position!"

Aranea rolled her eyes lamely at his accusation.

"And I already told you - I've _defected_ from the Empire. Officially. You got eight pounds of ear wax stuffed into your ears or something, Gramps?"

Cid growled darkly, "Now that's a pile of chocobo turd if I ever heard one!"

Shaking her head in slight annoyance, she folded her arms and looked back ro Gladiolus.

"Know any good place where we can settle things privately?"

Gladiolus was keen go along with her sensible thinking...

... until her next sentence.

"Think it's time to take Old Yeller behind the shed and put him out of his misery."

Cid looked as though he was about to rupture a blood vessel and have a heart attack, but then gave out loud, humorless bark of a laugh.

" _Old Yeller_ , eh?! The nerve of you to call me _Old Yeller_!" he basically snarled at her and took a step forward, "I'll show ya this dog still has some bite left in 'im..."

Aranea remained unfazed, but her fingers were twitching slightly at her sides, ready to call upon her trusty lance should things turn really ugly.

It was at that moment that Gladiolus finally decided to step in-between them.

"Come now settle down," he ordered both individuals as calmly as he could as he held back Cid from advancing any further, "There's no need to settle this case with an act of hostility. And no putting the mechanic out of his misery."

He directed a disapproving glower at Aranea with that last statement.

He certainly did not need another one of his friends to start grieving over the death of her Paw-Paw. It also would not help Aranea's case of defecting from the Empire if she killed someone who had ties to the royal family.

Aranea appeared to be thinking the same thing as her cautious stance relaxed, even though she still casted a forward glare at Cid who too had begrudgingly agreed to back down while grumbling obscenities under his breath.

Easing slightly that both had chosen to simmer down, Gladiolus cleared his throat.

"Now I know today has been rather... eventful to say the least, and everyone's on their last nerves, I understand that. But remember what Ignis said earlier about-"

"And what did the spikey glasses kid say exactly?" Cid questioned him with a raised eyebrow.

Gladiolus stared at him somewhat puzzled at his question, and it clicked im his mind. Inwardly, he made a facepalm and groaned, recalling that the old mechanic hadn't been there during Ignis' speech.

With a deep breath, he continued on, "In times like this, dissension and arguments are the last things that we need, especially when we've got a major crisis on our hands."

"Sephiroth, right," Aranea acknowledged with a sharp nod.

Cid gave her a confused look, " _Sephiroth_? What is that? Some new form of chocobo pox or a new fashion line for elderly folk?"

Both Gladiolus and Aranea fought the urge to roll their eyes at this.

"Basically speaking, he's a god that's hell-bent on destroying Eos," the former clarified in a grim tone.

The mechanic eyed him warily for a silent moment, as though he was trying to pass judgement on the big man's statement. After a few seconds of intense staring, Cid finally softened his look.

"You're not bluffing," he concluded in his gravely serious tone.

Gladiolus immediately acknowledged it as the voice that he had not used since their visit to Hammerhead following the Fall of Insomnia.

"Would I be joking about something if it's dire?" he asked rhetorically, adopting a matter-of-fact, "C'mon Cid, you ought to know us Amicitias better than that."

Cid frowned at his remark.

"Yes... and I see you've also inherited your old man's tendency to be an irritating pain in my ass."

Aranea chuckled softly at this and elbowed Gladiolus in the arm.

"I think he just insulted your father, Mr Big Shot," she commented with a snarky grin.

Gladiolus narrowed his eyes, but his eyes focused on Cid.

"And I'm gonna fracture your arm if you elbow me again," he growled under his breath, even though a hint of embarrassment could be heard in his voice.

Smirking widely at his attempt to remain calm and satisfied that she threw his antic from earlier back at him, Aranea commented, "Touché."

Before Gladiolus could contemplate trying to get back at the mercenary for embarrassing him, Lunafreya suddenly stepped into their little social group, flanked by Ignis who had chosen to commune with her for the past ten minutes.

"Apologies if I seem to be interrupting your conversation..." she spoke as regally as ever, "... but could we now discuss what we are going to do next regarding preparations?"

From her timid expression, it was almost certain that she had caught snippets of the argument that took place just now.

But then her expression darkened slightly as she exchanged glances with Aranea, who simply stared blankly back in response. Gladiolus raised an eyebrow of wonderment and thought to himself, _"Man, what would it take for someone to actually get under her skin?"_

"Gladio," Ignis called to him and the big man looked in his direction, "If I may ask, where is the Marshal currently at?"

Gladiolus could not help but smirk slyly as he folded his arms.

"Let's just say he's busy with... baby-sitting Iris."

Which was somewhat true, considering how much Iris being "occupied" with the man.

"Oh... so that would explain all of that screaming shouting from Iris earlier," Lunafreya commented thoughtfully, her chin being stroked by her free hand whilst the other held onto the Trident that she continued to keep by her person since the Altissia episode.

"Oh? You guys hadn't noticed?" Aranea questioned with her hands at her hips, "That kid was hollering her head off louder than goblin. Probably half of everyone here in the lot turned to watch it happen."

"Forgive us if we appear to feign ignorance as we were both discussing about the threat of Sephiroth," Lunafreya apologised, but Aranea easily picked up on the sarcasm with amusement.

Who knew that the Oracle was even capable of something as audacious as backchat? But did not mean she was going to back down to someone who was of greater importance than a notorious mercenary.

Sensing the tension rising again, Gladiolus cleared his throat and a took forward.

"Okay, as much as you two ladies wanna go off the rails on one another," he appealed to both females, "It's been quite a day for everyone in Lucis, so I suggest we let cooler heads prevail at least until we can can come with an idea about dealing with Sephiroth? Sound good enough for you?"

Lunafreya and Aranea stared at one another intently, both daring the other to back down or make the next move. But then they both looked away, but their scowls remained.

"Seems reasonable enough."

"Yeah, whatever."

Cid frowned at the childish act displayed by both women and made a irritated huff.

"Women are all the same... no matter what side they're on..." he grumbled to himself as he starts trudging off, "I'm gonna go check on my niece and Jared's grandboy."

He passes by Cor, exchanging nods as they walked past one another, as the latter approached the group.

Noticing that Iris was no longer chasing him, Gladiolus asked, "What happened to my sister?"

Cor glanced him with his tired frown.

"She gave up on pursuing me whilst we were in the marketplace. Said that she needed to catch up with you on some things."

His response prompted a raised eyebrow from Gladiolus. Is that so? Then why was it that she was not around in the viscinity?

With suspicon filled his thoughts, he started looking around to see if he could spot. But then he started looking behind him...

... and came across a grotesque sight.

"BWALALALALALALAH!" Iris screamed in his face, her eyes pointed inwards, her fingers stretching at the corners of her mouth wide enough for all her teeth to be seen, and her tongue sloshing all around like some sick parasite that was embedded in her mouth.

Gladiolus was sent into a state of befuddlement and terror, and he unleashed a loud howl of fright as he jumled backwards.

Aranea's eyes went wide slightly not because of the scary face Iris was pulling, but because the big oaf somehow managed to jump 4ft into the air.

Cor too was also completely stunned by this abrupt action and he stumbled back aimlessly as the male Amicitia landed just a hair's breadth in front of him.

With a hand tightly clenched at his chest, where his pounding heart was, he stared in bewilderment at his baby sister as she began breaking into hysteric laughter.

"Oh gods! That was _so_ on point that time! And it still gets you every time Gladdy!" Iris exclaimed, her hands holding her sides as they began to grow sore.

With cheeks that were flushing as red as a rose petal, Gladiolus eyed everyone else that were looking at him. Somehow he was not surprised to see that they were all giving him amused smiles.

It was more than he could take, knowing that his pride had took a serious pounding from a mere scare antic. His mind shifted to another gear as he stared down his sister who was still laughing. Slowly he started advancing towards her, an evil grin on his face and his arms slowly stretching out.

"Aaaaaand there goes our logic and reasoning," Aranea commented disappointedly, but her smirk still remained.

She clearly was enjoying what was going down.

As Gladiolus began attacking his sister was a flurry of tickles, Cor diverted the rest of the group's attention towards him.

"Right, "ahem"!" he declared with a loud cough, "While we wait for... Clarus' kids to settle down, might I suggest we convene about how we should deal with the extraterrestrial threat?"

He eyed the siblings again, albeit with grimace. Clarus would be turning in his grave and crying if he could see his grown children acting like five-year-olds in the middle of a tense situation.

Lunafreya nodded her head, her playful smile from earlier now replaced by a very serious frown.

"Indeed we must," she spoke out grimly and then turned to Ignis, "You have the floor, Ignis Scientia. After all, the only people with better knowledge on this case would be from Prince Noctis' retinue."

Nodding his head in concurrence, Ignis adjusted his spectacles and stepped into the middle of the small circle that they had formed. With a deep breath, he began to speak.

"Now as I'm sure you are all aware, Gladiolus, Prompto and I were accompanying the Prince to Altissia with original intentions of getting the Hydraean's blessing. During our brief tenure there, we also met with First Secretary Camelia Claustra, with whom Noctis made a deal to safeguard Altissia's citizens in exchange for the safe protection of Lady Lunafreya here under their jurisdiction from the Empire. But that was when fate reared its ugly head. As we were on our way out of the First Secretary's estate, discussing on how we should deal with the Hydraean, something crashed down into Altissia from the heavens like a meteor. Naturally we decided to investigate the incident up close to see what was causing quite a stir, but when we did arrive at the crash site, what we discovered was quite... out of the ordinary. A pink-haired young female lady."

"Ah... the gal who was trekking along the ledges of the asteroid," Aranea acknowledged with a nod. Ignis nodded his head, "Indeed. She introduced herself as Serah Farron, and if you can believe it, she claims to have hailed from another world."

"Another world?" Iris asked from nearby as Gladiolus finally let up on his tickle attacks. She was holding onto her sides that had taken the brunt of the onslaught.

"That is correct. Aside from that, she also went into a fair bit of detail concerning our newfound adversary Sephiroth. The facts that she gave us about him were quite... troubling to say the least."

"Troubling?" Cor questioned with folded arms. His face had turned into a frown once he heard the last phrase.

Ignis' face turned grim and sullen.

"According to Serah, prior to her encounter with Sephiroth, her world had been destroyed by the god that ruled it. After defeating him, she alongside countless other lost souls began a long journey across space to find a new world that was created for them. But somewhere down the line... they came across Sephiroth's asteroid, and were trapped there by his power. At first nothing happened, that is until Sephiroth and his children began killing them off. Relentlessly, and without any mercy. It was a slaughter. Serah was the only survivor I'm afraid."

Everyone were stunned into silence as the words of the Advisor sank in. No words could describe what emotions were going through their minds right now.

Horror because of the fact that Sephiroth was apparently a mass-murdering psychopath who killed without any hint of remorse or sparing a second thought to those he slaughtered in cold blood.

Fear because if that was what that monster was capable, what was he able to do against an entire world?

Anger at the fact that innocent lives had been lost in the wake of Sephiroth's warpath (even though they were not from Eos), and the possibility that billions more had suffered the same fate across the universe.

Certainty that this could be a fight that they would inevitably lose. Just another batch of souls to add to Sephiroth's collection.

But Cor was unwilling to let the last emotion cloud his judgement. There had to be a way to defeat a god. The Astrals obviously had their flaws in the old legends. Sephiroth should be no different.

"So basically, after killing off everyone else, Sephiroth just sent Serah on her way to warn us right? His next target?" he clarified with folded arms.

Gladiolus hummed in response as he stood next to Ignis.

"Pretty much the gist of it, Marshal. And the rest as they say is history."

Nodding his head slowly, Cor stroked his chin deep in thought. Meanwhile, Iris slowly went up to her brother's side and tugged at his shoulder for attention.

"Gladdy...?" she mumbled softly to him, fear and sadness evident in her eyes, "A-Are we going to... d-die?" The last word triggered something in Gladiolus as he spun around and gripped firmly by her arms.

"No! Don't you dare say things like that!" he growled angriliy as he shook her, "I won't have any of that nonsense!"

"B-But it may be... inevitable..." Iris implored, a look of resignation had suddenly crossed her face, and then a _smile_ of all expressions began to form slowly, "At least... we get... to see Dad again..."

Gladiolus was stupefied into silence by her statement and that goddamned eerie smile. Oh, he did NOT just hear that come out of his sister's mouth! It was very unnerving to see his usually cheerful and free-spirited Iris act this preternatural.

In growing rage and frustration, he shook his sister more violently and snapped, "I said SHUT UP! There's no way in hell I'm gonna let you die like that! Not while I'm still breathing! Listen to yourself! What would Dad say if he saw you acting like this?!"

Iris tensed up fearfully at her brother's enraged voice, and her tearful eyes widened with fear as she stared at him.

Hearing the dangerous tone in his friend's voice, Ignis cautiously took a step away from him. He knew better than to invade Gladiolus' personal space when he really lost his cool. Cor apparently got the same message as he gestured for everyone else to back away slowly from the siblings.

Lunafreya gripped tightly on the Trident with both her hands. Gladiolus current interaction with Iris somehow reminded her of the countless times her own brother Ravus had reprimanded her on an emotional level.

"Whether you like it or not! This is the way things are now! Noctis has been kidnapped and taken into outer space, and Eos is being threatened by a _god_! Yes, there's a very good chance that we may not survive this and we all will die in the end! But if you think that you're going to die alone, then you better start looking at the bigger picture 'cause all of us are FUCKED!"

With all of his rage spent, he took in deep breaths to compose himself. That was when he caught sight of his sister trembling with a paled look. Her behavior made her look like a little kid again.

 _"Great. Now she's terrified of you. Way to go, Big Guy,"_ he thought to himself guiltily and sighed.

Raking a hand through his hair, he said, "Look... the thing is... I'm scared as hell myself that I would die during the fight. Heck, all of us here are scared that we will die. But here's the thing Iris: there something I'm much more scared about than dying myself."

"S-Sephiroth?" Iris asked softly, a tear slowly streaking down her cheek.

Gladiolus took notice of it and reached with one finger. He brushed the tear away with his index finger and then responded emotionally.

"Losing you... like we had lost Dad."

There was a moment of silence that hung around the siblings. But then there were sobs, and then there were tears that finally burst free from her eyes as Iris leaned forward and embraced her brother tightly. Her body felt warm against the chilly night air.

In turn, Gladiolus wrapped his arms lovingly around his sister and leaned close to her ear. "I wasn't there to protect Dad, on the day we lost our home. And I hated myself for it," he whispered gently, "And I swear on my life that I won't let the same thing happen to you too."

Chocking back another sob, Iris softly made a smile and mumbled back, "I-I love you... G-Gladdy..."

Stroking her back gently to calm her down, Gladiolus replied back lovingly, "And I love you too..."

But as pleasant as the heart-warming moment was, it was not to last. As he looked up to face the others, he caught sight of something right behind them.

Almost immediately his mood turned sour again and he began scowling. Ignis frowned at his sudden change in mood. "Anything the matter, Gladio?" he asked with concern. But the response he got was only silence as his friend continued to sneer way past the others.

Sensing that there waa someone behind him, Cor tur ed around to see who it was. Almost immediately he adopted a dangerous glare.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing up here..."

Hearing this, Ignis turned around as well with Lunafreya and Aranea, to greet a heavyset young man with brown hair in a ponytail, a chin beard, and blue eyes. He sported a pair of cornrows on the left side of his head that connects to a braid. he wore a gray tank top, an elaborate beaded necklace, shorts and loafers.

Within seconds Ignis recognised who the man was, and so did Lunafreya.

"The one who escorted me out of Insomnia," the latter breathed in utmost surprise, "Libertus."

Hearing the name also caught Iris' attention as she turned around.

"I've met that man before..." she muttered softly, watching as the man in-question limped towards them with a single crutch, "I-Isn't he a..."

"Glaive..." Gladiolus growled out dangerously as he stood in front of his sister protectively and on guard.

Ignis also got into a wary stance, prepared for anything if the Glaive did anything suspicious.

As he slowly limped closer towards the Marshal, Libertus took note of the others gazing warily at him, excluding Lunafreya who waa smiling welcomely of his presence.

Turning his attention back to Cor, he commented, "Quite a way to welcome us, sir. Although I don't fault you guys for acting like that."

"I wasn't really expecting you lot to show up," Cor stated bluntly, nodding behind Libertus to his fellow comrades that were being held at a confinement space of the car park by the Hunters, "After what you did in Insomnia."

The weary Glaive sighed deeply with remorse and guilt evident in his features.

"Look. I know what we did that day was wrong. We betrayed the Crown, we get that. But you must understand. We had to make a tough call. Fighting for the King, or fighting for our homes that Niflheim now occupies."

"And you chose to side with the ones that razed your homes to the ground," Cor growled out vehemently, "The Empire took everything from you and still you believed their 'promise' to keep your homes safe."

Libertus was taken aback by the accusation, as truthful as it was hurtful, and was immediately on the defensive.

"Now, now, wait a minute here! We all know how dastardly those bastards can be! But at the end of the day, it was either trading one villain for another or risk losing our homes forever!"

"So that's what you thought him..."

Both men slowly spun around to the femalw who suddenly spoke up with a frighteningly dark growl. Gladiolus was also caught by surprise when he gazed to his sister, who had stepped away from behind him and was now staring down the Glaive with murderous eyes.

"You thought King Regis was a villain this whole time..." Iris snarled, a fierocious sneer had formed, scary enough to even make the Marshal feel rather unnerved.

Libertus stared back at the enraged Amicitia, but he tried remain as calm as possible as he took the full brunt of her attention.

"His Majesty gave us many reasons to believe why he had chosen to forsake us in favour of his son, but little to contradict otherwise. I'm sorry."

Something about the Glaive's words triggered a flip of a switch inside of Iris. She threw back her head and barked out a forced laugh.

"You're sorry?" she questioned in unamused disbelief, "You ass-kissing turncoats betrayed the royal family that protected your people for generations... and you're **_SORRY_**?!"

Before Gladiolus could react, his sister began charging right towards Libertus, fuelled by rage and anger, as she internally grieved for the deaths of her father and King Regis, and everything that the latter's son had to go through in the wake of the Fall.

With one swift kick of her leg, she disarmed Libertus of his crutch, which caused him to stumble back in surprise from the lack of balance. And then Iris balled her fist and drove it right into his unprotected chin, which sent him flying back two feet onto the road.

Lunafreya flinched uncomfortably as she watched Libertus go down in a heap, and then became more uneasy as Iris restrained his laid out arms with her legs and she began unleashed an all out assault on the defenceless man.

Iris screamed out her anguish, giving everything she had into her strikes to the Glaive. As far as she was concerned, the treason of the Kingsglaive stung even more than the Empire conquering Insomnia. They were the ones responsible for majorly crippling their defences that allowed the Imperials to abscond with the Crystal. They were the ones that enabled the enemy to get close and do away with Noctis' father. And they were the ones that helped steal away her home just to clear away the last major obstacle that stood between the Empire and world domination.

"This is all your fault!" Iris screamed right in Libertus' bruised face, "We have no home anymore! All my friends died that day! Because of _you_! We trusted you! _I_ trusted you! And you just had to go and sell us all out just because of your stupid pride and blind honour for your own homelands!"

Feeling that things had gone far enough, Lunafreya turned to Gladiolus, who had been watching the beat down with a look of indifference. "Gladiolus, I implore you to restrain your sister at once and take her as far away from here as you can," she pleaded with him, "Before she does serious harm to Libertus."

Gladiolus glanced at the Oracle and gave a brief nod of understanding before he rushed forth towards his sister. While Iris was still lost in her own fury, he quickly started to pull her away from Libertus and dragged her towards the town, struggling to endure the flailing arms and kicking legs and her demands to release her as he did.

As soon as the Amicitias were gone, the atmosphere became silent and still, as the others slowly recollected themselves from what just took place. At the same time, Libertus slowly got up into a sitting position, hissing from the injuries he got from Iris, as Lunafreya went over to retrieve his crutch that laid just away from where he was.

As he slowly leaned himself to one side to favor his injured leg, Libertus thought back over what Iris had said just now. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. It was because of the Kingsglaive's surprising defection to the Empire that Insomnia's fall went a lot quicker than anticipated. The subtle coup happened so fast, so timely, that it caught everybody off-guard, including the Emperor himself as he had his sole focus on the Crystal rather than acknowledging allegiances to the Imperial cause.

Yet even as victory seemed inevitable, Libertus was feeling the exact opposite of what his rebel comrades were exuberating. Instead of an overwhelming sense of pride and joy that he had finally helped take down King Regis, he felt a sense of loss and regret over his actions. He had chosen to aid the Lucian rebels and the Empire, yes. But he knew that it was all for nothing, once he had fully realised the implications that this would have on Eos as a whole. Insomnia was the last bastion of hope that people had when it came to fending off the Empire, as the Lucian capital had done so for two millennia. But now that the last obstacle was gone, Eos had been sentenced to an Imperial rule that was fraught with fear and despair.

Now as he reflected upon his own actions, Libertus realised that his support for the other side would not change Aldercapt's mind about improving the states of Galahd and other homelands that he had conquered. That tyrannical monster had lost all sense of reason and compassion, his obsession with the Crystal now becoming a staple of his everyday life.

Thus, Libertus made a decision and rejoined on the side of the Crown, as he helped his friend Nyx Ulric and Lunafreya from the wrath of General Glauca (formerly Captain Drautos), even going so far as to taking the latter out of the city central as his friend sacrificed himself to defeat the giant daemon the Empire had unleashed that night.

While his actions did affect the course of the future majorly, it would still be a footnote in history, but he could care less about being remembered. As he saw the woman that he rescued came up to him and offer him the crutch, he could see nothing but gratitude and encouragement radiating from her eyes. Those inner emotions meant much to him in his current predicament. If the Oracle was able to forgive him that easily, then the others would forgive him too. With time and patience of course.

With a nod of thanks, the Glaive accepted the crutch and used it to slowly hoist himself up on his good leg, hissing as his bad other stung just a little. Thankfully Lunafreya went over to his side and helped him up by his arm, giving him extra support and removing pressure off of his bad leg.

Once he was back up on his feet, he was approached by Cor who folded his arms and stared him squarely in the eyes.

"As you would've gathered from Iris'... feedback... what you and the Glaives did that day is something that is almost near-impossible to forgive. I will give you lot this opportunity to atone, but you have a long way to go before we can be assured of your unwavering loyalty again. That, as well as the judgement Prince Noctis will pass onto you upon his return."

Libertus winced visibly at the mentioning of Regis' son. That's right, the son was still alive and well, destined to take his place as the next King of Lucis.

It was almost a certainty that amongst everyone else that were unhappy of the Glaives' betrayal, Noctis was going to be the most furious of them all. After all, Regis was dead because of their lack of involvement on his side of the confict.

And since all hopes of realigning with Lucis fell to the decision of its heir, Libertus knew that he and his fellow comrades had to tread very careful. One wrong move and they would be forever branded enemies of the Crown.

With a forced look of guilt written on his features, Libertus managed a small nod of his head in compliance.

With that issue subsided, Cor resumed the discussion about their plans for Sephiroth.

* * *

"You know? You don't have to babysit me here, Gladdy," Iris stated with a pouty frown as her brother paced back and forth around her.

Currently, they were situated just outside of the Leville, and by now Iris had all but calmed down from the lack of Glaives gracing her sight.

With a steely frown, Gladiolus said to her, "Someone has to make sure you don't go off-the-rails crazy and cause another scene back there at the car park."

Iris let out a huff and folded her arms, "Well _excuse_ me if I wasn't trying to make a point about us working alongside those traitorous scumbags."

"Yeah? Well I don't like this idea as much as you do, sis, but if the Marshal made the call, then it's most definitely the best solution that we've got for now. After all, there's a god out there somewhere in space and he's got our planet next on his hit list."

"Whether or not the Marshal made the right call or not, I can't really say. But there has to be better alternatives to this," Iris implored, "Maybe we could initiate a mass recruitment program for the Hunters. I mean, there's bound to be tons of folks around the continent that hates the Empire and..."

She paused suddenly and she lifted a hand to her open mouth. A tired yawn muffled through her fingers, but it enough for Gladiolus to guess how tried she must be.

"And I think that's the end of the day for you," he declared with a pinched of his nose bridge, "Since we're just outside the Leville, and the others are probably gonna spend the rest of the night planning, how's about I book you into a room for the night?"

Iris gave him a pouty face and blinked her puppy dog eyes. "But I'm not sleepy..." she pleaded dramatically.

Gladiolus attempted to refrain from chuckling, but then settled with a half-smirk. "Still trying to use guilt trip act on me, eh? Hate to break it to you, but you ain't a kid anymore."

"But I'm still young!" Iris protested, and stomped a foot down in a fuss, "I have to go out and experience life before responsibilities chain my life forever!"

"And you will get to do that, once we take down Sephiroth, and take back Insomnia," her brother stated plainly as he patted her on the shoulder and heads into the main lobby of the Leville hotel.

Iris spun on her heels and gazed down at his retreating form. "That's reassuring of you Gladdy! Kinda like your failure at explaining to me who the hell is _Sephiroth_!"

She did not get a response from her brother as he was now busy talking with the counter staff about the check-in details.

With a huff of annoyance, Iris whirled back around to view the scenery. Gazing all around, she noticed that aside from herself, there was no one else that was spending the night doing outdoor activities.

"They're probably all at the main road looking at Ignis, the Marshal and the others like they've no better things to do." she surmised thoughtfully with a disappointed shake of her head.

And then she thought back to a time not long ago, to the last time she was here. It had truly been a wondrous experience traversing a new town that was situated outside of the Crown City, and she relished every moment of it.

When compared to Insomnia, the lifestyle of Lestallum was on a different level entirely. From its food, to the female laborers, it was something that was very foreign and alien to Iris, and that why she loved it.

She loved the place down to the core, that she was eager enough to volunteer showing Noctis around the area. And in a way, it was also a win-win solution. While she had a chance to introduce Noctis to a new lifestyle that was different from their home, she also had a chance to do something that she dreamt of for a long while. A date. And while Noctis didn't exactly "agree" with that idea, Iris was determined to make the best out of quite possibly her only chance at alone-time with her crush.

But then her smile left her face, the more that she started thinking about Noctis. Thinking back to the news that she overheard on the radio, Iris thought it was just some dumb mind game fabricated by the Empire. An asteroid descending from the sky like it was some sort of spaceship - what a load of nonsense and crap! But on the other hand, Iris could not help but feel a tinge of worry that something bad would happen. Lo and behold it did happen, with the news reports that came in after the incident, as well as her brother telling her that Noctis was no longer on Eos.

Noctis. Her one and only crush. No longer on Eos. No longer on the freaking planet. After everything that had transpired today, Iris just wanted to believe that it was all just a nightmare that she would soon wake up from. It became too hard and too much just trying to grasp what was real and what wasn't anymore. And it was clearly taking its toll on everyone.

"They were all feeling rather unnerved," Iris muttered to herself thoughtfully, and she wondered how much the loss of Noctis alone would be affecting his other friends including her brother Gladiolus and Ignis.

For her brother, he seemed to acting the normality as best as he could, and yet he still could see the worry in his eyes. She knew how attached he had grown to Noctis, ever since that fateful night that Noctis covered up for her wondering outside of the Citadel. It would kill Gladiolus to have lost his first royal the way he did, and should anything have befallen Noctis wherever he was, her brother would never be able to live with himself.

In Ignis' case on the other hand, well... he was still _Ignis_. As Noctis' advisor, he had been trained to overtake the roles and responsibilities of the soon-to-be King, should the anything occupy the latter or he falls ill. As this was presumably his time taking on such a massive role, Iris was curious and also worried whether or not he would be able to cope with the pressure. For now it appeared that Ignis was doing alright, but time would tell if his mentality would crack under pressure from all that heavy lifting.

As for Prompto... wait a minute, did she see the blonde cameraman anywhere in the car park? If anything, it had to be assumed that he too had also been taken alongside Noctis into space. He wouldn't leave his best buddy in the dust alone just like that. Considering the lack of references from the others, it also made her feel a little bit angry. Was Prompto truly that insignificant compared to Noctis and this Sephiroth god?

"Iris!" Gladiolus called from the lobby of the Leville. Snapping out of her thoughts with a sharp shake of her head, she spun around to face him.

"Good news. Cindy's already booked a room for Talcott to stay in. I'd suggest to head over there and take over from the gal," her brother informed her.

Acknowledging this with a nod of her head, Iris replied back, "Right. Thanks Gladdy."

With a one last sigh, Iris tilted her head upwards to stare up at the night sky. With all the lights of the town shining all around her, it was definitely hard to pinpoint the stars. But she knew that they were there, faintly from her point-of-view.

Somewhere out there, was Noctis, and she was dreading to think what might have transpired to him out there in the beyond. And she absolutely hated the fact that there was nothing anyone on Eos could do about it, especially since their beloved Prince was light years away.

All that she could do now, was hold fast to hope. Hope that soon, he would come back and save the world from Sephiroth. Everyone was counting on him to survive.

"Noct... wherever you are... please be safe... for us..." she prayed softly to herself.

She stared at the sky for a seconds before heading inside of the Leville, unaware of another presence that was watching her from a distance away.

A middle-aged man with red-violet hair, donned in a black long coat and pinstripe trousers, who was lying against the wall of the building, tossing up and down an Oracle Ascension Coin in his hand.

He had seen everything that had happened at the car park, and had observed the conversation between brother and sister from the safety of the shadows of the alley.

As far as he was concerned, whatever everyone here was doing was of little importance at the moment. His focus was entirely on one issue. And he was still extremely furious once his plans went up in smoke following the incident with Leviathan.

It had been going so well. It was so perfect, so precise. How was it that everything went horribly wrong within just a matter of minutes? Well there was one answer to that.

Whoever this Sephiroth god was, he was certainly starting to become a hindrance to his plans. It was no thanks to that little show in Altissia that he been deprived of his one chance to do away with the Tenebraen bloodline once and for all and to move along the Scourge at a faster rate.

But if the words of that accursed Oracle were anything to go by, then his other prey would be coming back sooner rather than later to face off against this new evil foe. So the issue of who would confront Sephiroth was already taken care of. Stepping out of the shadows and revealing his true self would be unwise and very risky.

And yet that did not mean he would be sitting on his laurels though. He would have to thoroughly re-evaluate his strategy, create new plans. After all, the Chosen King had arrived and he was not about to let his one chance for redemption slip through his fingers.

For now however, he would still go along with Aldercapt's little game. Oh, and speaking of which, he had a little situation conference to attend.

With amber eyes gazing up into the heavens, he muttered cryptically to himself, "And so the wait begins... for the Chosen's Second Coming..."

And with a stroke of his fingers on the brim of his fedora, Ardyn Izunia turned and sauntered off back into the darkness of the alley, vanishing like he was never there.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap for now!**

 **There's a couple of points I'd like to note before the end of this chapter.**

 **1\. It has been stated (according to Final Fantasy's Wikipedia page that Ignis had intended to become Noctis' General of the Crownsguard.**

 **2\. There is a moment in _Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV_ where Iris wanders outside of the Citadel just to chase after a cat. **

**3\. Iris and Libertus met once before as stated in the web novel _Final Fantasy XV Prologue Parting Ways._**

 **4\. A possible Sephiroth vs Ardyn has been contemplated upon a quite some time, but ultimately I decided against it, considering the bout would be more befitting of Noctis who will represent Eos as its Champion against the One-Winged Angel.**

 **And that's enough of that for now I suppose. Please leave a review if you think there's something I can improve on. After all I've been away from writing for quite some time, so my skills are a bit rusty at the moment.**

 **Well, until next time my friends! Now if you'll excuse me, I've got another story to start back up again...**


	10. The Way We Cope

**Alright! Another chapter done! Yay!**

 **From here on out (for the time being), there will be more emphasis on character development, considering that the whole lot of these characters are meeting each other for the first time. And besides, we all love interactions between different characters from different titles, don't we?**

 **Anyway, ready away my fellow readers!**

* * *

 ** _"BOOM!" "CRASH!"_**

With a cry of surprise, Noctis' eyes shot wide open and he founded himself flying out from the couch and onto the hard rocky floor by an unknown force that rocked the place he was resting in. Any traces of tiredness was quickly sapped from his body once the stinging cuts on his elbows and hands registered with his mind.

Hissing softly to himself from the small injuries, Noctis pulled out a Potion bottle from his pants pocket and crushed it in his hand. Relief washed over him as his body briefly glowed green, the cuts disappearing within a second or two. Hauling himself up to his feet, Noctis frowned down at the jagged parts of the ground that he had scratched himself upon.

"Clearly Sephiroth didn't teach his Son how to set up a room properly," he muttered to himself and shook his head out of disappointment.

And with that sentence he was quickly reminded that he was in this was not a dream, it was reality.

Up until Altissia, he thought he had seen and experienced everything that fate and destiny could throw at him. Turns out both had yet to rear their ugly heads.

He thought that he would be thrust back into the norm that he had already been used to, but alas such life was not to be anymore.

And then the ground rocked violently again, causing him to stumble and bringing him once more out of his thoughts. His senses were on high alert.

Just then, he heard a cry of surprise as Prompto was sent tumbling out of his hammock that he had lovingly built at the centre of the lounge room.

"It wasn't me, teacher! I swear!" he cried out hysterically as he frantically leapt up to his feet.

His wide eyes darted around, only to find that he was not inside of his Science classroom.

"Wait a minute… this isn't high school…" he muttered aloud in sudden realisation.

"That's because it isn't," came Noctis' unamused voice, prompting Prompto to spin around to him. His alarmed eyes softened with relief.

"Oh, Noct! You wouldn't believe what I dreamt of! I mean you were there, and Iggy was there, and Gladio was there too, and it got really weird within minutes. It's like a cross between-"

Another tremor rocked the lounge room, and Prompto founded himself back on the ground again, the wind having been knocked out of his lungs.

Noctis meanwhile was struggling to stay on his feet as he held onto one of the jagged rocks on the wall.

"The hell's going on?" Noctis wondered aloud, "Did we stumble upon an asteroid field or something?"

He hoped that was not the case, otherwise he had to pray that Yuna had terrific navigation skills.

"Beats me," Prompto stated as he got back up to his feet, "Maybe we ought to pay the main deck a visit and-"

One more tremor and both men were spurred into action, taking massive brisked strides as they headed for the main chamber where Kadaj had tortured Noctis.

Passing by a table that a small flask was sitting on, his eyes stared at a floating orb within the interior, Noctis could not help himself but playfully tap his fingers over the glass surface.

He smiled whimsically, more or less elated to enjoy himself tormenting Kadaj, imprisoned in his own personal hell. Prompto noticed his friend moment of playfulness and could not help but join in the banter.

"Oh yeah, not so tough now are you?" he taunted the little small orb, "You were so dangerous, and now you're the size of a golf ball."

But then the mood soured quickly as another couple of tremors shook the asteroid's interiors, and they struggled to make sense of proper balancing as they moved onwards. As they got closer to the main chamber, they could make out noises coming from his intended destination. And from the way they sounded heated and tense, Noctis could only make a guess as to what was happening.

"Don't tell me there's an argument going on..." he muttered to himself with a frustrated rake of his hand through his hair.

"Oh… the drama never ends," Prompto commented dramatically with a shake of his head.

And just when Noctis thought things could not have gotten worse. When he retired to the couch to catch up on some Zs, everyone was in a pretty positive mood.

No one had been bickering and were feeling quite relaxed around each other. Despite the fact they were from different worlds that is. It was because of that fact that Noctis felt reassured and confident that the space voyage was going to feel a lot more calm and peaceful than he had thought.

How foolish of him to think like that so prematurely. It was too good to be true.

With a sigh mixed with exhaustion and frustration, Noctis made the last few steps that would lead him out into the main chamber. And as he expected, there was indeed an argument going on.

Between Serah who looked like she was about to blow a gasket, and Tidus who was apparently defending Yuna; it was she who Noctis casted alarmed eyes at.

The short-haired brunette looked visibly tired and drained; a stark contrast to the liveliness he had seen just now. Her shoulders were sagged, her back was slightly hunched, and her eyelids were drooping halfway down.

 _"Controlling the Lifestream must've taken a toll on her,"_ he deduced thoughtfully, albeit with remorse and worry.

From her, his eyes switched over to the bickering individuals, both whom were still oblivious to his arrival.

"I don't mean any ill-will towards your fiancée, but you have to understand. We can't afford to be wasting time flying leisurely through space!" Serah attempted to reason with Tidus, "Sephiroth could be right on our tail as we speak, or maybe he's already outpacing us towards Eos!"

"No way! Nuh-uh! I don't give a rat's ass about any of that if you can't let Yuna rest up for a while!" Tidus snapped back angrily, his hands pushing the High Summoner back gently, putting her out of the reach of the pink-hair, "I mean look at her! She's look just about ready to faint, for Farplane's sake!"

"Yes I can see that she's exhausted!" Serah replied in growing agitation, "But wouldn't it be possible to-"

"Save it!" Tidus cuts her off with a glare and he started backing both himself and Yuna away, "I don't wanna hear another half-baked idea outta you! Yuna's gonna take a break and that's final!"

A well of anger boiled up inside of Serah, and he was opening his mouth to retort back.

 ** _"ENOUGH!"_**

Everyone in the chamber jumped in fright at the commanding yell. Slowly and nervously, Tidus and Serah (and even Prompto) turned to Noctis, who was trembling with absolute irritation and frustration, and fury that burned within his eyes. Yuna on the other hand simply smiled softly at him, appearing relieved for his sudden intrusion.

Shallow breaths escaped shakily as hisses through gritted teeth, and Noctis' eyes were furrowed with annoyance. Slowly but surely he calmed himself down before he addressed them again.

"The hell's going on out here?" he questioned the two with once his anger was restraint, "I was just having a nice nap when the asteroid suddenly began to toss me all around the lounge room."

Immediately the responses flew back in hysterics, both Serah and Tidus' voice overlapping the other and they pointed accusing fingers like idiots.

"I was just trying to reason with Serah here that Yuna's feeling tired from piloting this space rock!"

"I was trying to help move things along!"

"NO! You're the one who wants to work her to death just so you can see who reaches Noct's planet first!"

"Can you blame me? Sephiroth's a _god_! A _god_! Who knows how fast he can traverse through the cosmos?!"

From there it devolved into another bickering match, and all that Noctis could do was look on at the two in silent disbelief.

"If only Iggy were here to see this," Prompto remarked with a slight grin, "He'd probably have a couple more grey strands to add to his beautiful hairstyle."

Noctis on the other hand however did not reciprocate the joke.

 _"I can't take this shit at this hour..."_ he thought to himself, _"Still got some beauty sleep to catch up on..."_

If Ignis was here, he was _also_ going to give him a bigger earful than an overbearing mother who wouldn't leave you alone 24/7. He always takes issue with his health whenever he did not get enough sleep.

Inhaling in a deep breath or air, his chest puffed out a little bit and then he exhaled out.

"I said... **_SHUT! UP!_** "

Almost instantly Serah and Tidus silenced their argument abruptly, and they whirled back at the Prince with startled expressions.

Prompto meanwhile stared at Noctis with absolute amazement since he had never thought his friend could be capable of such a commanding presence just like that.

Once he had calmed his nerves again, Noctis spoke to them both as diplomatically as possible, "Now, I understand that things are pretty tense right now for all of us. Is Sephiroth's a god and a sick son of a bitch? Still can't really put it that far since Prompto and I haven't personally met him yet. Could we be risking our world just by letting him outrun us or catch us? Possibly. But if there's one thing that we all can agree on, is that everyone's safety is our number one priority."

Serah nodded her head almost immediately in understanding, and she sheepishly looked away in somewhat guilt of what he had wanted Yuna to do against her will. Wow, a heck of a way to put herself in a real pickle this time. Heck, she wasn't even sure how she was going to apologise to Yuna for her brashness.

 _"What would Claire think of me if she saw this?"_ the thought crossed her mind harrowingly.

Staring at the pink-hair longingly to make sure that he got his point across, he then turned to Tidus.

"With that being said, how's she holding up?" he questioned, his tone way more serious than he had imagined.

Tidus glanced towards Yuna, alarmed by how close she was to fainting, and then looked back to Noctis.

"Not really good. She needs a bit of rest if you guys ever want to get back home," he stated grimly, stepping right up to the Summoner to give her support, "No offense if it sounds like it."

Noctis waved a hand, "Eh. None taken. Too usage of power can take its toll on any person who can command it."

Then to himself he wondered in thought, _"Did Luna had to go through the same suffering to help me with the covenants."_

Just the imagination of his love in the same position as Yuna made him wince with guilt, and it was uncomforting.

How long had Lunafreya been suffering in silence, while he was kept in the dark about it? It had been years without any other sort of personal contact with her, aside from the Lovers' Notebook that Umbra had been delivering to and fro over the years.

Even he could somewhat sense the weakness of her tone whenever her speeches were broadcast on the radio and on the TV even though she attempted to mask it as best as she could. And even then he did not think much about the subject, until Insomnia fell to the Niffs.

He swore to himself that once they returned to Eos, he was going to do everything in his power to ensure Lunafreya would survive, to give her a chance to live out a full life. Even if it meant forcing her to forfeit her duties as the Oracle.

Then noticing everyone else giving him stares of concern, he refocused himself on the couple away from his dark thoughts.

He then turned to Yuna and asked, "Yuna, you can stop the rock if you want to. I think you deserve a break as much as I need more sleep *yawns*."

Yuna nodded her head in gratefulness, although she was also giggling with Serah, Tidus and Prompto at how exhausted the Prince still appeared to be. Then focusing her efforts on the Lifestream, she willed it to bring the asteroid to the halt. The essence obeyed her command and the asteroid gradually came to a stop.

Unfortunately, even a simple command was enough to sap away more of her strength and within seconds, the Summoner blacked out and she began falling backwards. Had Tidus not been there to support her, she would have collapsed onto the rocks, and she might have sustained unintentional injuries as a result.

Tidus carefully shifted her body until she was laying against his back, and then he reached around behind him to her legs and scooped her up into a piggyback position. With one more nod of thanks directed towards Noctis, he started trudging away to the lounge room.

Once the couple was out of sight, Noctis turned around to face his best buddy. Currently the blonde was busy doing some stretches and checking his camera at the same time.

"How does he even manage that?" Noctis wondered to himself softly, watching as Prompto skilfully rolled his arms clockwise and ogling the photos on his camera every time his hand swung in front of him.

Even up till now, Prompto's bizarre antics never failed to bring mixed reactions from his friends.

Ignis for the most part would do his best to keep a level-head and ignore whatever the blonde does, although a noticeable grimace would cross his feature sometimes. Gladiolus was way opposite, telling Prompto to quit the antic before it got on his nerves, and when he didn't get his way he always added in a subtle threat of breaking him in two. But Noctis on the other hand...?

Well, he had never failed to be impressed and amused by what Prompto had been doing. After all, amongst the four of them, he was the one who had known Prompto the most, considering they had been to the same high school together. He knew his hobbies, his interests as well as the things that he dislikes. The list was endless, and Prompto was always a sucker for trying new and different things.

With an amused smile on his face, Noctis commented with folded arms, "Well, looks like somebody's feeling bouncy."

Prompto huffed out a chuckle, "Ah, you know me Noct! Always spicing things up! Keeps the antics fresh and uniquely interesting! Even if _some_ people don't always agree with them."

Noctis nodded his head in understanding, knowing full well who Prompto was referring to.

"I agree, Gladio can be an hard ass at times. But he's still just doing his job. I mean, he was born and raised to do it, and he has a family tradition to keep, so can you blame him? Even I don't approve of his hardline stance at times, but he's still just Gladio."

Ceasing his weird exercise, Prompto lets out a sigh amd shrugged, "Yeah, I guess you're right on that point. Gladio's just acting like... Gladio. As always. But it wouldn't kill for the Big Guy to cut a bit of slack once in a while, would it?"

Noctis smirked, "He does."

Prompto slightly frowned at him, "Aside from _cup noodles?_ "

This rare act of seriousness from the blonde only earned him a chuckle from his friend.

 _"Really? One of the few times that I act seriously and he laughs?"_ he thought to himself in disbelief, _"Give me a break, Universe."_

Noticing the disapproving look his friend was sending his way, Noctis waved a hand and said, "Okay, okay. Point taken. But seriously, give it time, Prompto. Eventually, even the Big Guy has to take some days off to do even more crazy things. Like all those times he played King's Knight with us."

Prompto hummed back his response, easily recalling all those times that Gladiolus had joined them in playing King's Knight in Noctis' apartment, and then later on at campsites and caravans beyond Insomnia's walls. The Big Guy looked so relaxed, so normal and very carefree. He wished that those rare moments would become more occasional. After all wisdom eventually comes along with age.

Just then, a wave of tiredness hit Prompto, and he let out a full-blown yawn.

"Well... tonight's been quite eventful. Or was it today?" he remarked with a stretch of his arms, "Ah well, at least everything peaceful and quiet again. Time to hit the haystack again."

Turning on his heels, he swaggered off back into the tunnel that led to the lounge room. But one glance back and he realised that Noctis was not following him.

Pausing in his stride, he looked back to his friend.

"Um... dude, you coming?" he asked.

Noctis, who had his back turned on him and his gaze directed elsewhere, merely replied back with, "Be right with you in a jiff."

Raising his eyebrows in confusion, Prompto followed Noctis' gaze, until his eyes landed on a certain pink-haired female was still standing rooted where she was the whole time they had been joking around, a despondent look on her face.

Realising what this meant, Prompto nodded back his response, even though he knew his friend would not see it, and started heading off again through the tunnel.

Noctis stood right where he was until the footsteps became silent, and then he started walking over slowly towards Serah.

Serah made no movement of any kind as he continued to approach, which had him thinking over what was going on with her. Was she trying to avoid looking at him? Or was she suddenly thinking of something else entirely that diverted her entite attention from reality. Either way, the young female was not acting like herself at the moment, and Noctis was determined to find out why.

He continued stepping up towards her until he was about a few feet away, from where he asked softly, "Serah?"

He waited patiently for a response of any kind to be returned, but after a minute or two all he got was complete silence.

 _"Yup._ _She's clearly in deep thought,"_ he deduced to himself in thought.

Inhaling deeply, Noctis made a sound akin to clearing his throat, ensuring that it was loud enough for Serah's ears to pick up.

Almost instantly, the pink-hair's blue eyes widened slightly and she reacted as though she was snapping out of a hypnotic trance.

She turned to Noctis who was looking at her expectingly. Swiftly adopting a look of sheepishness, she mumbled out, "O-Oh! Sorry Noctis. Guess I hadn't realised you were still here. Do you need something?"

Noctis waved a hand casual and smiled, "Nah, nothing much. Just wondering what's going on with you. You seemed to be a little troubled for a moment there."

Serah heaved a deep sigh, "So you noticed, hmm?"

"It was hard not to see it," Noctis replied, "Besides, I've been 'round friends long enough to tell if something's bothering them or not."

He thought back to his early school days, when Prompto had yet to be his friend, when he been fatter, when he had a lot of problems trying to find his place and purpose in life. Deep within his heart, Noctis felt a semblance of guilt for not being there for him during those days, even though Prompto eventually turned out okay as time went on.

Serah's expression softened, and her gaze turned to look out through the transparent wall, to the trillions of stars that were twinkling in the endless reaches of the cosmos.

"It's just that... there's been so much weight on my shoulders for these past two days," she muttered out softly, now acting like her true age, "I thought trying to take charge of this situation would make things more smooth-sailing... but I'm starting to feel a bit of that toll. I wonder how my sister managed to do it."

Noctis' expression softened with concern, "Trying to take charge of something without any experience or knowing what you're getting yourself into can lead to serious trouble, Serah. All due respect, you don't look or fit into that stereotype category."

He took a step closer to her and asked, "I mean seriously, what drives you into doing this Serah?"

Sighing softly, Serah took a strand of her pink hair into her fingers, "I've seen first-hand, what Sephiroth can do... but I already told you about that, didn't I?"

She let out a mirthless laugh, "I lost so much in just a matter of minutes. My friends... my sister..."

Just the mere mentioning of Lightning was enough to send her down into an emotional pit. Her eyes closed tightly, and her arms crossed and wrapped over her chest. Tears threatened to escape as she struggled to fight back those dark memories again. Not just when Sephiroth beaten her sister to within an inch of her life, but also all those times when she felt so separate from her on Cocoon.

Now that they were taking a break from all the shenanigans that had been ruining their lives, the full impact of her loss was now starting to make itself known in her thoughts. A few days ago, it felt like all her troubles were finally over. A new world beckoned, and with it the promise of a second chance to start all over again.

But now however... everything that had been happening, it was due to Sephiroth intefering with the scales of balance. He had turned everything upside down, from peace to a living nightmare. Every single living person from Pulse had survived Bhunivelze with a chance to live again, only to be snatched up into the hands of another damned god who took it all away. It would seem that there never escaping a fate of being under the control of the divine. And Serah hated it. It was so unfair in so many ways after everything they had been through, after everything Lightning had done to liberate them from Bhunivelze.

With a small sob and a tear rolling down her cheek, Serah quietly reminisced, "My sister fought so hard to give us a chance to live again, away from the tyranny of gods... but then Sephiroth stepped into the picture. He killed everyone, Noctis, right in front of my eyes. Without a second thought. The children..."

She slowly walked over to the one the pillars Noctis had been chained to, and pounded the side with a clenched fist.

"I swear to the heavens..." she seethed, "If I... no, _when_ I see that monster again... I will make him pay for all the pain that he's caused me. The suffering and loss he's dealt me, he will be given back tenfold when his asteroid gets blown into a trillion tiny pebbles."

Noctis, who had been looking on in silence the whole while, sidled up to the pink-hair and asked comfortingly, "Feeling better?"

Serah remained stationary, like she had never heard him. But then she relaxed her body, and her hand moved away from the rock pillar.

Letting off a heavy breath, she nodded her head, "Mmm... yeah. A little bit."

She looked back to him, allowing Noctis to see the pain those tearful blue eyes. Deep down inside, he felt sorry for her predicament. It made him wonder what sort of life she had to go through back on her world. Surely it could not have been a blissful one, from what was described to him about the fate of her world.

A sudden harrowing thought came to him. Could the Astrals... have the power to destroy Eos as well? It was a least likely scenario, since his gods were fiercely protective of his world. But it still gave him the shivers just thinking about Leviathan, Titan and Ramuh just suddenly going crazy one day and raze the entire surface from the mantle.

And it was as equally frightening to see Serah so determined just to swear vengeance against Sephiroth. She looked rather innocent and caring to act so violently. But then again he reasoned with himself that he had not known her for that long, so there was clearly more to her than meets the eye. And he would get the chance to find out more about Serah, since he was stuck with her aboard this floating hunk of space rock.

Just then, a tired yawn brought him out of his thoughts, and his eyes gazed at Serah as she stretched out a hand and covered her open mouth with the other.

"I guess a couple hours of sleep will do me good," she admitted bashfully, "To be honest, I hadn't gotten any sleep in an insanely long while."

It also made her wonder when was the last time she had taken a nap? Was it before the fal'Cie catastrophe? Or was it when she had first met Noel? Eh, it did not really matter now anyways. She was going to enjoy every moment of peace that she had before going back into the fire.

Noctis smiled lightly at her, "Really? Well then, enjoy the dreams Sleeping Beauty."

Serah chuckled softly and rolled her eyes, "Ha ha, very funny Your Highness. Now come on."

She grabbed onto his arm (much to Noctis' surprise) and led him on towards the tunnel.

As they re-entered the lounge room, they noticed Tidus who was carefully positioning Yuna properly atop of Prompto's hammock, its creator watching from beside him with a somewhat analytical look on his face.

"There. You think she feels comfortable enough?" Tidus asked the blonde as he took a step back from the slumbering Summoner.

Prompto stared at her sleeping position critically, stroking his chin as though he was contemplating something. Another second or so, he replied back, "Yeah, that oughta do it. Wouldn't want the gal to toss and turn and fall off the hammock by accident."

Tidus looked to him and raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"You're really sure she won't fall off?" he questioned.

Prompto nodded his head, "Yup. Pretty sure."

Taking that as his assurance to call it a day as well, Tidus went over to the couch and laid down on it. Prompto meanwhile went around the hammock to the other side, where he had set up a couple of makeshift beds made entirely out of a few pieces of cloth that he had woven to make a bed sheet. The one he went to had his boots that he had stacked on top of one another lying down; intended for being a pillow. From Noctis' point of view, it looked rather uncomfortable, but he would not begrudge his friend's ingenuity and creativity.

Serah shifted from his side and went over to another makeshift bed and sat down over the sheet.

Noticing that she had no pillow of her own, Noctis asked with concern, "Don't you need something to rest your head on top of?"

His eyes then glanced down anxiously to the uneven ground. He picked out a couple of jagged rocks protruding out, especially the ones that he fell upon when the tremors launched him out of the couch earlier.

Smiling gratefully at his worrisome expression, Serah shook her head, "It's okay Noctis. I've had worse moments during school camps. This should be no biggie for me."

She laid down her head over the sheet slowly and carefully, but then breathed in relief once she met smooth ground.

Gazing back up to Noctis once more, she made a small smile of encouragement and said, "Go get some rest too. We're gonna need every ounce of energy to take on Sephiroth."

Noctis nodded his head and grinned, "Sure. I'll join you in dream world shortly, though I fear we might not be sharing the same dream."

Serah giggled a little at his joke, "No doubts about that."

Her smile fell slightly, and then she spoke comfortingly, "Don't worry Noctis. I promise that Sephiroth won't win. I've already seen my own world get destroyed by a god, I won't see my friend's world share that same fate."

And with that, Serah closed her eyes fell soundly asleep, leaving Noctis as the only remaining occupant still awake. His grin faded, and then a rather sombre mood crossed his face.

"Yeah..." he muttered softly to himself, "I hope that's the case..."

He still had so much to catch up on with Lunafreya, and being dead was not going to do well for him. Like the saying goes – 'til death do us part.

He wandered over to the table and sat down at the chair. There he began dwelling over his thoughts, about everything that had been going on for the past month or so. Ever since his home fell, Noctis felt like his life was being turned upside down.

Things always seemed to go south at every corner. And on top of that, he had a destiny to fulfill. It was like his life was not his to control anymore. Thinking about it made his heart wrench in pain and hurt. It was so wrong on so many levels, and it was quite unfair. He was running on a time limit just to save Eos from the damned daemons that terrorised the nights.

And just when he thought could not get any worse, Altissia happened. The covenant with Leviathan was supposed to have gone according to he had roughly envisioned: fighting the giant sea snake and earning her blessing, before setting off again towards Gralea to reclaim the Crystal.

But then Serah stepped into his life, followed by Kadaj and his minion monstrosities. In that one fraction of a second, his life turned upside down for a second time. Now not only was he supposed fighting an Empire with his retinue, he was now supposed to fight a damned god as well.

Noctis let out a shaky breath as he tried to calm his nerves. The emotions were too much for him to handle, the true weight on his shoulders now being felt in full force. As much as Serah tried to assure him that he was not alone in this fight, he still was quite uncertain of the fight that had yet to come.

Sephiroth was a god, and that meant that he was omnipotent - virtually unbeatable and unkillable. He probably could level mountains, sink an entire continent, or slice an entire planet in half with relative ease. And what did he have? Just a few Royal Arms, couple of ordinary weapons and the ability to warp.

Compare that to the feats that this Sephiroth could have accomplished in his conquest, that begged the question. How in the world could Noctis even match up to that?! Even with the entire Crownsguard, Hunters, his royal retainers, Serah, Tidus and Yuna, and maybe even the Empire combined, he would still need a lot more firepower and strength to even make a god flinch. And he also doubted that he could easily appeal to the Astrals for their full support, considering their most impeccable timings when it came to summoning.

As his hands went to his side, he suddenly felt something hard brush against his left palm. And then his eyebrows furrowed, remembering what it was that he had with him. His hand reached inside of his jacket pocket and from it emerged the one thing that was extremely important to his royal bloodline.

As he held it out before him, Noctis' eyes flashed dangerously as they narrowed down on it like it was the scum of humanity.

The Ring of the Lucii? More like the Ring of Fire that had been bringing him more than just heartache.

This tiny item in the palm of his hand contained all the power and all the might of the Kings of Lucis that had came before both himself and his father. But out of every single one of them that revelled it as a sacred relic of Lucis, only Noctis himself heralded a different judgement on it entirely.

He saw this trinket as nothing more than a burden. A burden that he was forced to carry, more so when compared to his ancestors and his father. And if his ancestors' essence were truly housed within the Ring as they say, then Noctis would not hesitate to meet with them, just so he could spit at their feet just for making him suffer throughout this entire madness.

And yet at the same time, a small part of his mind tried to ration with him. Without the Ring, Noctis would not even have a fraction of a chance to save his world from the daemons. All the hopes and dreams of his people were with him, and it was duty to bring them to reality once more.

It was so easy, tempting even, to simply shun away from his calling, to shirk from his duties and just live the good life like he did when he was still in school. But doing so however was just as easy as condemning Eos and all of its inhabitants, including Lunafreya, his friends, Iris, Cindy, Cid, Cor and his people, all to suffer terribly when the Starscourge hits in full force.

And if he did that, Noctis was almost certain that he would never ever forgive himself for indirectly sentencing them to death. As well as his father, who would probably be the most disappointed by what his son had failed to do in his call to destiny.

Besides, considering the Sephiroth predicament that he had been unceremoniously dragged into, it would be vital that the use of the Ring would play a huge part in the upcoming fight for survival. If Sephiroth succeeds... well... he would not have to worry about the Starscourge ever again, alongside everybody else. But he would have still lost a home that he was born and raised in, and that would be a tremendous loss for all.

With a long sigh of resignation, Noctis closed his fingers tightly around the Ring.

"Better to save this as an insurance policy," he uttered out coarsely, "Or a trump card..."

He could care less which term suited best, just as long he remembered that the Ring was still in his possession when time came for him to meet Sephiroth.

Just then, there came a loud yelp, and the Prince flinched slightly in fright. Shaking the cobwebs of his dark thoughts out of his mind, he turned sharply around to see that Terra was nursing one of her feet by the tunnel, her innocent face contorted in intense pain.

Alarmed and concerned by this, Noctis shot up from his seat at the table and brisked his way over to her.

"Terra, you alright?" he asked her worriedly.

Looking up at him with a pained smile, Terra shook her head and replied, "It's alright. I'm fine. Just stepped on a sharp rock."

And then another sting course through her foot as the sole curved in on the injury a little, which forced out a small hiss through her gritted teeth. Considering how much she was trying to favour her right leg more, Noctis could tell that that was where she injured herself.

 _"At least I had it worse than her,"_ he thought with a slight wince at the multiple cuts he sustained earlier.

Quickly snapping into action, he raced forward to take her by the arm for support.

"Easy now," he coached softly as he started escorting her over to the table, his eyes casting wary glances at the others that were still slumbering.

Terra also took notice of his nervousness, and bit her lips to force down anymore cries of pain that would have woken them up.

Once they were at the table, Noctis carefully set her down on the chair.

"There we go..." he sighed out quietly and then proceeded to kneel down in front of her legs, "Let's have a look at it."

Terra nodded her head and made a small smile, grateful for his unconditional assistance.

She lifted up her injured foot and when it was high enough, Noctis held onto the base of her red high-heeled boot to support the levelling. Gazing over at the sole, he made a small scowl at the small hole that had been made in the centre of the sole, and a lone stream blood that was slowly trickling from it.

"Clearly the rock she stepped on must have been really sharp," he thought to himself with narrowed eyes, "Sharp enough to punch a hole right through her boot."

It made him wince a little to think how much pain she had been just now when she let out that cry that called for his attention.

Looking up to her, he said quietly, "I'm going to need to remove your shoe. Gotta see how bad is the cut."

Nodding her head silently in eager compliance, Terra reached over to unfasten the laces that tightened her boot. Once it was loose, Noctis slowly started to remove it from her foot.

He was careful though, as much as he could so as to not disturb the injury and keep her from wincing. After a few seconds, he set the boot down right beside him and gazed at her injury once more. His eyes widened once he saw the injury in full form.

What had been obscured underneath the boot, was now plain clear to see. Blood was pouring out of the hole in her foot like a leaky faucet. Trailing down the length of her feet until it dripped from her heeled onto the ground. Terra visibly winced as she felt the drops of blood that fell from her heel.

"Shit..." Noctia mumbled under his breath, soft enough for Terra not to hear it.

The last thing he needed was making himself look and act unprofessional, and right in front of a girl no less.

With a steady breath to calm himself, he thought back to all those first aid lessons that Ignis had taught him.

Did he teach anything about treating injured feet at all? Well, not that he could recall them so easily. It felt so long ago. All that he remembered were bits and pieces. Things like plasters, ice bags, bandages - no wait, that's it! Bandages! And what else did he need? An IV unit? Call 911? No wait, that was only for _real_ emergencies, you idiot! But this _was_ technically a real emergency, but then again there was no hospital in outer space.

But anyways, what else did he need? Come on, Noctis think! What else does a first aid kit contain? There were scissors, ointment... Yes, that's it! Of course! Ointment! To disinfect the wound!

 _"Thank you memory for not failing me,"_ Noctis thought to himself with relief.

But then begged the question however. Did this place even have a fist-aid kit?

His eyes darted around the room, to where the cupboard was. Maybe there was one in there? It seemed like a logical choice, considering the lack of any compartments in the table.

Looking back up to Terra who seemed rather troubled his prolonged silence, he said softly, "Keep you leg raised at this level. I'll be right back."

He let go of her foot, which prompted the green-hair to hold up her leg in his stead. She then looked to see that he had moved away from her foot and around her, heading over to the cupboard.

"What are you doing?" she called to him in a hushed whisper, her violet eyes briefly glancing to the others to check if they were awake.

When she saw that they were still slumbering soundly, she sighed with relief and then looked back to Noctis, who had opened up the cupboard doors and was now scanning the main interior.

"Seeing if there's a first aid kit lying around here somewhere," he replied back as he continued his browsing.

When he finally checked every corner, he surmised that the interior was empty. From there he began rummaging through the compartments, including the one where Kadaj had imprisoned Yuna, Tidus, Rikku and Terra in. After about a couple of minutes with absolutely no luck, Noctis was just about ready to give up. But then he checked the last compartment.

His spirit was lifted once he saw the familiar white, rectangular shape of a first aid kit just sitting there waiting to be used. Heck, he was also surprised that Kadaj even bothered to have one to begin with! Taking it out from the cupboard, Noctis closed the doors and brisked back over to Terra.

He set the kit down right in front of her and quickly went to work opening up the lid and pulling a fresh roll of bandage, some wad of tissue paper and an ointment bottle.

Looking back to Terra, Noctis visibly flinched at the strained look on her face. It was as though she hadn't the energy to keep her leg up for a while longer.

"Alright, keep it up there just a while longer, Terra," he coached her as he unfurled the folded tissue paper.

Holding it right in front of the bleeding cut, he paused momentarily. He looked back up to Terra, a somewhat apologetic look in his eyes. The green-hair nodded her head firmly in understanding and encouragement, her determination set to see this through.

Turning his attention back to the injury, Noctis calmed his nerves and breathed in deeply. With tissue in hand, he began dabbing a little bit as best he could around the edges of the cut to absorb the blood. Terra meanwhile was struggling to fight through the pain that stung her badly. She even bit her lip to refrain from even making a whimper.

As soon as he had done cleaning away the trickles of blood from her foot, Noctis began to apply the ointment via a fresh wad of tissue. He wiped over the cut several times over. But that was when Terra's voice broke into his focused concentration.

"So, Your Highness..." she began asking him, "Have you done something like this before?"

Noctis glanced up to meet her eyes for a brief moment before he went back to her injury.

"To be honest, no I haven't," he admitted with a light shrug, "Although I've had a bit of training on doing first aid from my Advisor. Suffice to say I wasn't paying much attention."

He paused for a brief moment and lowered his hands. Noctis closed his eyes in deep thought.

"I was surprised that I even remember some of it," he recounted with a sigh, "I guess my Advisor does have his ways of reminding me of what I've learned."

Once he had finished with the ointment, he started with wrapping the bandage around her foot.

"What about you then, Terra?" he asked her, "Are you a first aider yourself?"

Terra tilted her head to the side, her eyes staring off into the distance.

"Well, while I'm not certain what a "first aider" is, I roughly suspect that you probably mean a healer," she said with a small smile, "In a sense, yes I am a healer. Whenever my friends are in need of medical care and attention, I'm always there looking after them, which is of course all the time since we always run into trouble with monsters on my world."

"Really?" Noctis asked her with perked curiosity, "Must have been some adventure where you're from."

He failed to notice Terra's smile faltering from her face once he mentioned "adventure".

"Yeah... adventure..." she mumbled softly under her breath, a mixture of anger, grief, pain and sadness flowing through her as memories resurfaced.

How long had it been since those days, when the Gestahlian Empire had still gripped her entire world through fear, when that sickening clown commander still terrorised and haunted her every waking hour? It felt so long ago, and still the painful memories remain ingrained into her subconscious.

Terra may have already left that past far behind her, but the damage was already done. She had been used against her will as a brainwashed puppet for most of her childhood to do the bidding of tyrannical emperor and the clown who simply waged war and slaughtered innocents just for the fun of it, which left her effectively without memories of her early life.

She and her friends bore witness to the clown destroying their entire world, and they had to fight him to save it, at the cost of her own people. Terra could still remember it, feel when her father faded out of existence before her very eyes, and she could not do a damned thing to save him.

Even to this day when she felt content at the prospect of moving on, there were moments where her joyful side shattered and she confined herself to a corner, weeping and screaming and grieving for a life that she could have had without the Empire. She had longed to feel the unconditional love that only a mother could provide. She had wanted a childhood, a normal one, without the Empire stringing her along. She had wanted to experience everything that a normal child would experience growing up. How to love, and how to hate. How to learn and how to have fun. Undoubtedly those were the joys of life that she had lost and would very lilely never ever reclaim.

And yet even then, Terra kept her head held high. While she had wasted nearly twenty years of her life as a weapon of mass destruction, that did not mean that she had to live that way entirely. After all, with Kefka's death, her powers had gone with her people, which made her effectively just a regular human being. And that meant she never would be able to harm anyone ever again. With her friends by her side, they would stand together with hopes and dreams to rebuild the world that had been devastated.

That was of course until Sephiroth showed up one day. Terra and her friends did not even see it coming. In fact the entire world was taken by surprise when the asteroid appeared over their sky, and when thousands of strange monsters began to ravage the land.

Naturally, Terra's group took up arms and met the invaders head-on. While she did not have her magic anymore, Terra had been refining her swordmanship with Celes and Setzer, so she did not have to worry much about getting hurt. The battle was in their favour initially, with all of the monsters all but killed.

But that was when _he_ showed up. He and his three Sons that descended from the sky and began taking out everyone in their sights. Almost instantly, their offensive turned to defensive, but it did not last long. Terra could only watch helplessly as one by one, her friends were slaughtered where they stood.

Celes went first, followed by Locke, then Edgar, then his brother Sabin, then Gau... Every single one of them - dead within seconds. Until Terra remained. The last survivor of her home world. Feeling as though she had nothing left to live for, she prepared for what would have been a final showdown against the One-Winged Angel.

Until he lowered his sword and began speaking to her, much to her confusion. He commended on her being a hybrid and how she was rather special compared to other humans. But when she refuted that her Esper side had died with her people, he offered her a chance to regain her magic. The only downside to that however, was that she was to become his Daughter. His first Daughter.

When Terra refused and prepared to fight him again, Sephiroth obliged, but purposefully held back, allowing her let loose her rage and fury at him. Eventually however she tried out, all of her strength used and spent. But Sephiroth became bored. In one fell swoop, he stabbed her right through the back and then proceeded to slice her torso from her legs. The pain had been so excruciating, Terra barely managed to scream before Sephiroth severed her head from her shoulders.

"Terra!" Noctis' voice ripped into her haze of darkness, and she gasped aloud, her mind coming back to the present from the past.

She whimpered slightly, her breaths fast and erratic, and her heart beated hard against her ribcage as her fearful eyes darted around frantically, looking for any signs of the god. But then she felt hands on her shoulders, and she darted to stare right into a pair of blue eyes.

"Look at me Terra! Just keep your eyes on me!" Noctis told her firmly but gently.

Terra shook her head profusely, her eyes filled with tears, "N-No... S-Sephiroth..."

"He's not here, Terra!" Noctis told her in absolute assurance, "That heartless monster is not here! Just keep looking me at me! Relax... Calm down okay? For me."

Obedient as she was, Terra quickly followed his advice. Taking in deep breaths and relaxing the tension in her muscles, the green-hair solely and gradually set her mind at ease, as reason and reality set in. After about another couple of seconds, Noctis relaxed himself with a smile of relief and removed his hands from her shoulders.

"There we go..." he sighed deeply and folded his arms, "And impeccable timing too, considering I was just about finished with your bandage."

Terra gave him a blank look and he simply gestured with his hand downat her foot. She followed his gaze to see that her foot had been wrapped cleanly in white cloth.

"Oh..." she muttered aloud in wondrous realisation.

The bandage felt quite soft against her skin. No wonder she barely felt anything as she dwelled on her thoughts! Either that or time passed by rather quickly while she was in deep thought.

Looking back up to Noctis, she gratefully said, "Thank you, Your Highness. I am indebted to you for this act of kindness."

Noctis shook his head and waved a hand.

"It's alright, Terra. Just doing my thing as always," he replied back geniunely with a kind smile, "Also, there's don't need for formalities here, especially since we're this far out from my world. Noctis is good enough."

Terra smiled back warmly, "Of course, Noctis. If that's what you wish."

She lifted up her foot to inspect her wound. Her eyes picked up no traces of any further bleeding. "

Your cut's probably starting to clot a little," Noctis deduced as he too inspected the injury, "Possible explanation for the lack of blood."

Terra nodded her head in silence as she started to gently rub her hand against the soft fabric of the bandage.

"By the way, Noctis," she then said to him, "You chose to treat my cut the normal way, when it would have been to easier to otherwise use or Potion or cast a Cure spell. Why?"

Noctis frowned a little at her question. Unbeknownst to her, he already had been considering using a Potion bottle. It could have been faster and easier just to use it to heal her injury. And yet he thought better of it, for one simple reason.

"Well, considering that we're out here in... wherever we are... it'd probably not smart to use all of our finite resources until we get to Eos," he stated reasonably, "And besides, I used up the second-last Potion before going to stop Serah and Tidus' bickering match, as well as the fact that I'm not exactly an arcanist."

And then a curious thought occurred to him.

"Which reminds me by the way..." he said to her curiously, "Where were you whilst the asteroid was shaking like a leaf?"

Terra shifted herself around the chair to get more comfortable.

"With the Son of Sephiroth incapacitated, I thought it a good opportunity to start exploring the other tunnels and caverns in the asteroid. See if there were any more surprises or secret rooms that Kadaj had hidden away."

"And did you find any?" Noctis questioned with folded arms.

Terra shook her head, "Unfortunately, no I did not. It's apparent that whatever traps or monsters that Kadaj had set in place all disappeared once his link to the Lifestream was broken."

Noctis hummed in acknowledgement and stroked his chin.

"That's good news," he stated with a nod, "But you shouldn't have gone alone though. What if there was a giant monster lurking around the corner somewhere, and you're just by yourself fighting for survival?"

Terra rubbed her neck in guilt, "Well... I didn't wish to disturb the rest of you since all of you seemed preoccupied. Tidus was star-gazing with Yuna. Serah was drafting out a map of the tunnels and caverns."

Noctis visibly winced, recalling the awkward looks he shared with Prompto when they had a look at Serah's map. Needless to say they tried not to imagine a kindergartner drawing out a similar map while at the same time not making Serah really angry for her lack of drawing skills.

"Your friend Prompto was doing something with that weird-looking cannon box of his. And you were sleeping on that peculiarly cushy chair thing," Terra finished and gestured to the couch that Tidus was snoring on.

She sighed softly, "I admit however, you were still awake when I chose to set off exploring. I could have asked you to join me, but I was still feeling a little nervous talking to human strangers from anotber world. Eventually I thought against it after seeing the way you looked cute and innocent as you slept."

Noctis froze in his tracks and choked on his saliva. At the same time Terra's eyes went wide in horror and she quickly covered her mouth.

Did she... did she just say that out loud in the open?

Turning slowly to face her, Noctis nervously asked, "W-What did you just say...?"

Terra furiously shook her head and squeezed her eyelids tightly shut.

"N-Nothing! I said nothing! Just forget about it!" she exclaimed, her voice muffled by her hands.

Still she could feel him stepping closer to her, and heart began beating faster and faster.

 _"No! Please go away! Please go away!"_ she pleaded mentally in her mind, not wanting to make the scene more awkward than it needed to be.

And then there was a firm hand on her shoulder and she jumped slightly upon contact. Oh no, this was when things got real ugly! What was he going to do? Slap her? Berate her? Attack her? Just as multiple worst-case scenarios began playing out in her head, she heard a soft chuckle.

Suddenly confused by this, Terra opened her eyes, only to see Noctis smiling playfully at her.

"It's okay, Terra. Calm down," he told him warmly, "I'm not that type of guy who reacts sensitively. Besides, I can't really blame you for thinking like that about me too. I just have this sort of magnetic effect amongst the girls back home."

Her panic quickly quietened down from his assurances, and swiftly gave way to piqued curiosity.

"Oh?" she asked with a tilt of her head.

Noctis rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, now suddenly realising that he would be forced to go into a long explanation as to why girls are attracted to him.

Thus, he began to explain about his life, about his early school years when the girls would be gossiping about his looks, and then high school where they would gossip and approach him many times about going on dates. There were also a few occasions that fights would break amongst them, vying to be the most superior of the girls suited to be Noctis' supposed girlfriend, much to his continuous chagrin.

At the end of his explaining, Noctis was more than ready to let the ground turn to quicksand and swallow him whole. He could not believe he had practically just told a cute girl the most embarrassing moments in his life. Terra was also giggling to herself as she listened to his recounting. That was a major hint to his suspicion.

"I know... my life has definitely been totally full of killer headaches..." he mumbled softly to himself, "And it looks like you're enjoying yourself."

Terra shook her head, but was trying her best to hold down any more of her giggles.

"I-I can't... help i-it..." she genuinely responded, her hand covering her mouth but her shoulders were moving up and down.

She really was trying her best to contain her laugh, but just the mere thoughts of girls her age gushing over Noctis like a god was too much for her mind to process seriously.

Noctis sighed in growing exasperation and raked a shaky hand through his hair. Yes he was quite happy that Terra's spirits were lifted and her mentality stable after that panic attack from earlier, but he had to admit that maybe, just maybe... he overdid it by just a teensy weensy bit.

Oh who was he kidding? Of course he overdid by _a lot!_ Overshot the mark like always. And he could not help but laugh along too, in a vain attempt to cover up his little embarrassment.

And so the laughing continued on for a good couple of minutes or so. Terra's being far more genuine, and Noctis' being way too awkward.

Once they had finally stopped to catch their breaths, Terra smiled joyfully.

"I haven't laughed that much in quite a while," she commented whimsically.

Noctis chuckled with a nod of his head and made a small dramatic bow, "Happy to be of service ma'am. Just give me a call whenever you need more laughing therapy."

When she had finally recollected herself, she tilted her head curiously at Noctis.

"You have such an odd way of speaking, Noctis," she noted, "Is life on your world really as different as you said?"

At this, Noctis paused as he tried to come with a response that would not make her confused quickly.

"Yeah um..." he mumbled awkwardly and scratched the back of his neck, "As a matter of fact... you might wanna steel yourself when the time comes."

Terra blinked her eyes in growing confusion, "Why?"

Noctis shuffled his feet slightly, "Because uh... um... you might gey a little... overwhelmed by the things you'll see on Eos..."

The green-hair took some time to herself to process what the Prince had just said.

"Overwhelmed" was the keyword that was swimming through her head, and with it brought a dozen or so thoughts that she dwelled upon. What did he mean by overwhelmed? Were there going to be a lot of strange people on his world? Were there more types of monsters that they were going to look out for?

Still, she should not be so quick to judge Noctis' home world based on his brief statement about it. After all he seemed quite hesitant to tell her what truly awaited everyone on his world that he called Eos. But nevertheless she was determined to help get it off his chest before he could start worrying over trifle matters.

Looking him right in the eyes, she asked him seriously, "What do you mean exactly when you say "overwhelmed"?"

Again, Noctis felt hesitant to tell her, and even now he had to take a step back, feeling rather perturbed by the piercing violet eyes and the small frown that were bearing down at him.

 _"Man. Since when did I started getting myself entangled with cute but scary young women?"_ he thought to himself anxiously, his mind briefly thinking back to Serah when she too acted all bossy with him and his friends back at the Leville.

Were he not in a precarious situation with an evil deity, he would have considered this as a curse from the Astrals.

But seeing as he was stuck together with Serah and Terra for thr time being, he just had to pull it together. Lunafreya was still waiting for him back on Eos afterall.

 _"Wonder what she's doing at the moment..."_ he thought quietly to himself.

"Noctis?" Terra drew back his attention to her from his thoughts, a now more concerned look replacing the scary frown, "You haven't answered my question."

Noctis nodded his head in reluctance, "Right... So the reason why I said to prepare yourself. Well... it's because that... my world is... vastly different than yours..."

Terra titled her head in curiosity, "Oh? How so?"

Noctis folded his arms, "You might say... our technology there is quite... advanced for you..."

Just to make sure his point was justified, he asked her, "What sort of things do you have on your world, Terra?"

The green-hair played with a strand of her hair and closed her eyes in deep thought.

"If I remember correctly..." she muttered softly, "I think there were castles, towns, Chocobos... um..." Sighing deeply, she looked back up to Noctis with a look of sadness.

"That's all I can remember I'm afraid," she stated solemnly, "It was so long ago..."

She closed her eyes tightly, "I vowed to keep the memory of my home alive but... most of it became so hazy overtime..."

Seeing the sorrow and pain on her face made Noctis' heart ache for her. Sephiroth had taken everything from her, and now she was stuck here, unwillingly forgetting bit by bit the memories of her original home. Just thinking about it made his stomach churn and twist sickeningly.

He could not even begin to imagine a similar fate befalling Eos. His heart wrenched even more as he thought about Lunafreya possibly suffering a similar fate as Terra's in days to come. That future was almoat certainly an inevitablility, less they could figure out a way to stop Sephiroth before he destroys Eos.

But he dared not to think about it for the time being. For now, he'd rather concentrate on keeping Terra's spirits lifted. While he did not have the power to help her remember her home, he could still try to comfort her to the best of his ability. Moving closer to the grieving girl, he wrapped his arms around her in a gentle embrace.

"I'm sorry," he comforted her gently.

Terra shook her head, "It's not your doing, Noctis. It's been a few centuries after all - I was bound to start forgetting sooner or later."

"No. It's Sephiroth who has..." Noctis trailed off mid-sentence, having caught something in Terra's earlier sentence he swore he did not mishear.

Pulling away from her, he asked, "What did you just say?"

"I said it's not your doing-"

"No, no, way after that! Something about being a couple of-"

"Centuries," Terra finished for him, but that was when she noticed a growing sense of bewilderment on his staring face.

"... You've been stuck here for _centuries?_ " Noctis asked with a raised tone of shock, but not loud enough to wake the others.

To his reaction, Terra smiled sheepishly with an awkward giggle, "... Surprise...?"

The Prince took a step back from her and acted like he was about to have a mental breakdown. His mind was not able to comprehend the information presented ro him.

"What... but that's... huh...?" he stumbled over his words out of absolute astonishment, "But you look... so young... N-Not that I'm... trying to imply that you're..."

Terra giggled once more at his little jumble up but then shifted uncomfortably in her chair and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Yes um... I don't really know how to explain this..." she admitted timidly, "It's really a bit of a long story... something to do with my spiritual essence and the Lifestream..."

Noctis stared blankly at her, "The Lifestream is keeping you young?"

Terra sighed deeply and gave him an apologetic smile, "Sorry, but I don't truly understand the full facts myself. Aerith explained it in far better terms than I ever could."

That caught Noctis' attention. A new name.

"Who's Aerith?" he asked.

"She's the one who saved my spirit from Sephiroth and resurrected me," Terra replied simply, but this drew an even bigger gasp from the Prince.

"R-Ressurrected..." he muttered softly, slowly on the verge of fainting from his growing confusion and shock.

Seeing how weak he seemed to be, Terra felt regretful for revealing too much information to him at once. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence and paced breathing, Noctis finally regained his composure.

"Okay, clearly there's still a lot that I need to learn about this Lifestream subject," he stated evenly with a pinch on the bridge of his nose, "But seeing as how I'm still mentally reeling from being thrusted into this nightmare, I think we oughta retire for the night. You, Tidus and Yuna can explain everything about our current situation later on."

Terra nodded her head in sincere understanding, "I agree. But where would you be sleeping, Noctis?"

Noctis stroked his chin and his eyes gazed around the room. She did have a pretty good point. Obviously he was going to have her sleep at the table, but what about himself? From the way he could see it, the lounge room was pretty much fully packed. Not much free space to accomodate his body.

"I'll find someplace of my own, don't worry," he told her assuredly, "Go get some shut-eye while you're still able to."

Terra stared at him, a skeptical look in her eyes, but she ultimately chose to let it slide. Leaning her head and arms over the smooth surface of the table, she could not help but feel guilty that she was using the table instead of Noctis, especially after she injured her foot.

Instinct was teling her to just get out of her chair and offer it to Noctis. But then the logical side of her mind reasoned that she had an injured foot after all. She would not be able to move around much without support in her current state for the time being.

And besides, even if she wanted to, Noctis would still insist, as gentlemanly as he was, that she should have it instead. Such a clash of geniune kindness and concern would spark an argument that would go on for a while, which would not be totally beneficial seeing as the rest were asleep.

With a pang of reluctance, Terra closed her eyes slowly and willed her mind to close off from all of reality. Within a few minutes or so, she unknowingly began drifting off into the unknown haze, and the atmosphere of dreams took hold over her.

Meanwhile, Noctis had been silently watching over her like a protective hawk mother until she finally went to sleep. Once she did, he relaxed his muscles breathed out a sigh.

"Man... what a day this has been..." he groaned out quietly to himself.

As much as he had enjoyed chit chatting for a while with Terra, he still was trying to wrap around this whole "what the hell did I get dragged into?" situation. It felt so simple in the beginning, with simply seeking out the Astrals for their blessings and reclaiming the Crystal. And now there was Sephiroth who he had to stop before he devoured all of their souls.

And all because of a life-changing incident when Serah crashed down into Altissia, rambling on about the oncoming apocalypse. Just then, he heard a small groan coming from close by. Turning his head, he caught sight of the pink-hair tossing and turning a bit, her face contorted in pain and grief.

"C-Claire..." she mumbled out absentmindedly through her lips, and Noctis would not have caught that name if he were not paying full attention to her.

"Claire?" he parroted in mixed curiosity and confusion, "Who's Claire?"

He thought back to when Serah spoke to him earlier, when she had described everything Sephiroth had taken from her. Her friends and... her sister.

 _"Of course..."_ Noctis thought to himself with a frown, _"Claire'd gotta be her sister. It all makes sense if she's dreaming about her right now and calling her by name."_

And if that was the case, then he must assume that this Claire had to be the one who saved her people from their god, at least according to the story Serah said back in Altissia.

With a feat as impressive as that, Noctis felt rather intrigued by just powerful Serah's sister could have possibly been. She must have had the might and power of a god as well in order to take down another. After all, it takes a god to kill another god. But that however also led him to a troubling thought.

Sephiroth had managed to kill off Serah's entire people, and that included her sister. But if Claire had managed killed a god, why couldn't she have done the same with Sephiroth?

Something was not adding up to this tale, and to be quite fair to Serah she had been giving a shorter version of the story. Even then there were a couple of holes that she had probably unintentionally left out that he had noticed.

Gazing back to the pink-hair, Noctis thought to himself, _"I'd better ask her to give the full rundown of her story when she wakes up. There's some context that we need to consider before we start coming up with plans."_

But for now however, he decided that he needed to get some sleep too. He had been awake for far too long as it was.

Looking around the lounge room once more, he finally decided that he would have better luck sleeping in the main chamber. After all the ground looked far more smoothen compared to this place.

As he started walking quietly out of the room, he glanced one more time towards Serah who had finally stopped tossing around; a calm and happy smile had formed at her lips.

"Don't worry Claire..." he muttered out softly, "You're sister will be safe, for as long as I breathe."

* * *

 **And that's the end of this chapter! Man, this is getting a little bit more interesting now that we're moving on towards the character development stage. If you guys enjoyed the interactions between our heroes here, wait 'till the next few chapters! With more encounters between different characters, anything is possible! And don't worry! It's almost certain that maybe Lightning will rub arms a bit with Cloud and and perhaps her broody male counterpart Squall (spoilers!). And before you ask, no Cloud was technically not a brood in the original Final Fantasy VII game, but we all know that right? Right?**

 **When I wrote down Noctis' chemistry with Serah and interaction with Terra, I admit I was tempted at times to shorten them. I was feeling guilty that I was probably adding onto to Square Enix's injustice of Lunafreya, but then Noctis wouldn't have the chance to see and understand how much in the same phlight the two females were in as he was.**

 **Also I wouldn't like to think that Noctis is smitten with Terra, considering that he still has Lunafreya. In fact, both would have more of a brother-sister type bond.**

 **As time goes on, we will get to view how the other characters were affected mentally and emotionally, and unfortunately there will be less Sephiroth for the time being, but the impact his carnage had caused will be explored in greater depth (like how Terra had her panic attack moment), and how our heroes struggle to cope with their losses and move on.**

 **Well, that's just about it for now! Please leave a review if you believe there's some canon inaccuracies to be addressed. I will do my best to willingly make the necessary tweaks.**

 **See you next time!**


	11. New Recruits

"I TOLD YOU I HAD 'IM!" was the first sentence Cloud heard when he snapped out of his daydreaming.

His Mako blue eyes re-trained on the ranting brute gun man that happened to be his ally as he sat on top of his bed, or rather a _patient_ bed. Currently he was in the middle of a glaring contest against Squall who was leaning up against a nearby wooden post. Both were oblivious to the blonde's startled reaction.

"Really? The way I saw it, you had your butt beaten to a pulp," Squall told the gunman bluntly, "If Vincent hadn't swooped in on time to save us, your spirit would be swimming in the Lifestream now."

"Ay, don't spin this 'round like ya weren't there Mr Scarface!" Barret retorted back, "You oughta be thankin' your lucky stars ya didn't get another scar on yer pretty look!"

He earned himself a pointed glare from the mercenery but ignored it as he turned to look at Cloud.

"Quite a company of friends we've picked up, eh Cloud ol' buddy?" he remarked jokingly, "At least some of us ain't as naggy as Mr Scarface here."

Cloud could not help raising an eyebrow at his friend. Barret calling him "buddy" was something he will never get used to.

"At least my group of allies aren't as cocky and irritating as you," Squall countered back with a glower.

Cloud turned to him and questioned, "Really? Because I could not help but notice Selphie getting on your last nerve everytime I see you both together."

The mercenary sent a glare his way, but made no move to retort back.

Barret noticed this and chuckled out, "Looks like he got ya there, Broody Pants."

Squall looked as if he could combust into flames at any moment, but he managed to keep his anger in. He looked away from them both and muttered under his breath, "... Whatever..."

Just then a female voice called to them, "So how is he?"

The trio turned and eyed the newcomer who had just entered into the medical tentage and was now approaching them. She wore a shin-length pink dress that buttons up the front, a red bolero jacket, brown boots and metal bracers on her wrists and around the edges of her jacket sleeves.

As she came to a stop close to them, Cloud was the first one to acknowledge her presence.

"Aerith," he greeted geniunely with a short nod.

Smiling sweetly at the blonde, Aerith Gainsborough turned her attention over to Barret.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him.

Barret shrugged his shoulders, "Eh, damned migraine, aching arms, my legs are killing me, and I think I lost an arm too."

The last one got a chuckle out of both Aerith and Cloud.

"Other than that, I'm good," the gunman finished with his usual grin.

Nodding her head, she then turned over to Squall and scanned the length of his body.

He had multiple cuts and bruises all over his arms, and he had a bandage covering his forehead. Other than that the mercenery looked just about ready to fight another day. But Aerith was still being Aerith, and she wasn't going to take any chances.

With a small frown replacing the smile she had, she questioned him, "Aren't you supposed to be resting too, Leon?"

Squall sighed at the name she gave him, ignoring the short laugh that came from Barret.

"It's Leonhart..." he mumbled out in embarassment.

Aerith unfortunately acted like she didn't hear him; he suspected it was intentional.

"Leon, you know the rules. You are to stay in bed until your body fully recuperates from the Mako poisoning," she scolded him like an overbearing mother.

Squall stared at her, a rare glint of reluctance in his eyes.

"Do I have to?" he questioned, "I still have to debrief my team."

And that was when he realised his grave mistake.

Within a split second, Aerith's kind and caring nature was sapped from her face, replaced by "the look". Within seconds, Squall's stoic demeanor faltered, and he suddenly felt like the ward was getting bigger.

He timidly gazed down at his feet, and mumbled out quietly, "Er... S-Sorry..."

Barret meanwhile was looking on, feeling rather entertained by the mercenery's predicament. Cloud was also tempted to share the same sentiment, but he eventually settled for pity. Nobody questioned a slums-raised Cetra and gets away with it. Aerith folded her arms and leaned closer towards Squall.

"Quistis already took care of that and will be taking over from you for the time being, so aside from that I don't want to hear any more excuses out of you," she stated plainly, her tone suddenly authoritative and stern, "Now back to bed, or must I call Rinoa here?"

Reluctantly like an obedient child, Squall slowly and quietly shuffled back over to his bed, which lay just beside Barret's. As he got settled in, Cloud slowly and cautiously moved closer to Aerith, not wanting to feel her wrath too.

"Y-You know you didn't have to do that to him like that," he told her softly, "He barely came out of that fight with his life."

Aerith sighed deeply, her anger clearly been spent.

"I know that Cloud. But someone as stubborn as him needs a bit of "motivation" from time to time," she stated as she turned around to face the blonde, a smile once more at her lips like nothing ever happened.

Before more words could be exchanged however, one of the assistant nurses approached them in a brisk walk. The trio recognised her as formally one of _that_ mad scientist's personnel.

"Excuse me? Miss Gainsborough?" she called out and Aerith turned to her.

"Yes? What is it?" she asked.

"Doctor Crescent is requesting your presence in the Rebirth Wing," the assistant said professionally, "She has some good news to give you."

At this, Cloud and Aerith shared a glance.

The Rebirth Wing was where they housed the spirits of those that had been reduced back into nothing more than spiritual essence by Sephiroth. Since most of its patients were those that went on rescue missions to save stragglers, that particular unit was exclusive to them. If Doctor Crescent had good news, could it mean that...?

Looking back to the assistant, Aerith nodded her head gratefully, "Thanks. Tell her I'll be right over."

As the assistant turned and walked away, Cloud asked her softly, "You don't think that...?"

Aerith shook her head, "It shouldn't be possible... no one could ever recover that quickly..."

"I say you oughta see it to believe it," Barret suggested, which got him the attention of the pair, "Go on. Right 'bout time Pinky gets the attention she needs."

Cloud raised an eyebrow at this. There goes Barret again using that nickname ever since he got back. Just who exactly was this Pinky?

Before he could dwell more upon it, he founded himself being led away from the patients' ward by Aerith who took him by the hand. As the pair walked across the tentage to the other end, Aerith breathed out a heavy sigh.

"Things are getting a lot more hectic these past few days," she lamented quietly, sounding rather exhausted, "And that close shave with Sephiroth..."

She closed her eyes tightly, "If I hadn't reacted on time... he would've..."

Suddenly she felt a gloved hand gently gripping at her shoulder, and she open an eye to trace it back to its owner.

"If that bastard had managed to slip through into the camp, I would've driven him out again," Cloud spoke softly, his eyes riddled with a mixture of determination and sadness for his friend.

Aerith could not help but muster up a small smile at his usual assurance, but then she looked away.

"It's not as simple as last time Cloud," she muttered, "He is a god now. Even the Mako energy in your body isn't strong enough to take on his omnipotent abilities."

Cloud nodded his head in solemn agreement, "But you are thinking of a way to counteract it, right?"

Aerith shrugged slightly, "Well... I do have a theory as to how we _could_ nullify his godhood, but it will take some time to develop. I've nothing but conjecture at this point."

Cloud was slightly disappointed by this, but out of respect to his companion he pushed it out of his mind. She had been doing her very best to hold this little establishment of a haven together, and it was one heck of a job, especially since she had been holding it together for over a millennia or so.

But with Sephiroth having been mere inches away from destroying everything again, and now that he knew where they were hiding, this place was a ticking time bomb. It was only a matter of time before Sephiroth found a way to counteract Aerith's magic and begin another mass slaughtering.

Everyone knew about this considering how quickly the news spread, and now pressure was on himself and his allies to quickly find a way to get everyone out of here. But for now however, there was a more pressing issue that needed to be addressed.

Soon, the pair arrived in the Rebirth Wing, where their eyes catched the handful of glowing orbs floating atop of empty beds.

"That's quite the catch we have," Cloud commented.

Aerith shook her head, "It wasn't so easy, but surprisingly for once Sephiroth had his attention focused elsewhere. I managed to slip into his Lifestream pool and reel in as many spirits as I could."

She then turned to Cloud, "And I believe one the spirits was originally a person from our world."

Cloud's brows were raised at this.

Stifling a giggle at his reaction, Aerith further said, "We won't know who that person is, until he or she fully regains the body, so we're just gonna have to wait until then."

Just then, a woman in a white lab coat came striding up towards the pair, her high heels clipping and clopping against the rocky floor. Even though her overall appearance made her rather unique, the way her bangs hung over her head... they reminded Cloud of a certain somebody.

It was not to say that he could ever blame this scientist for the atrocities that her son had committed. Vincent had explained the whole story to him overtime. She was a good person who became a victim of a grander, but twisted plan. It had taken her quite a while with consultation and self-reflection to come to terms with what she did or did not do, and Cloud wouldn't put that load back on her again.

Removing her gaze from the clipboard in her hand, she greeted the pair with a smile.

"Miss Gainborough, Mr Strife," she acknowledged with a nod.

Aerith reciprocated the nod pleasantly, "We're here to view the special patient, as you had requested Dr Lucrecia."

Humming her acknowledgement, Lucrecia began to lead them through the Wing, pass the beds that were lined up in neat rows and columns.

"So how is she?" Cloud brought up, "You said you had good news about her."

Lucrecia nodded her head, "Yes, of course. We've been monitoring her vitals closely over the past couple of hours. Everything seemed on par with our other patients, but then we detected a spike."

Cloud raised an eyebrow, "A spike?"

Lucrecia hummed, "Mmm, yes. And then all of a sudden, her body quickly regained its outer physical aspects... if you know what I mean."

Aerith's lips pursed slightly upon that mentioning, her thoughts going back to when the injured woman had been brought into the Rebirth Wing.

What Sephiroth did to her body compared to the others... it was quite unsettling to say the least. She had been lucky not to have been reverted back into an orb, but for her clothes and skin... Aerith held back a shudder, wanting not to think about that awful sight ever again.

Eventually, the trio arrived at bed that their special patient was lying on. True to Lucrecia's words, the woman looked as though she had physically recovered. Her arms and legs were sprawled across the mattress, her dishevelled pink hair lying all around her head in a strewn mess.

Sitting at bedside watching over her was another young woman. She had shoulder-length black hair with three caramel highlights on both sides of her face. She wore a long, sleeveless, blue rib-knit duster sweater with a pair of white wing designs on the back, as well as matching rib-knit arm warmers, a black tank top, a denim button-up skirt, a black ribbon on her left arm, and black cycling shorts with zippers going down the front and a pair of silver buckled black boots.

Glancing over at their arrival, a huge smile was plastered on her face.

"Hey you guys," she greeted cheerfully and hopped to her feet, "And just when I thought you had abandoned me to do the baby-sitting job."

Aerith smiled warmly back at her and spoke out, "Apologies for keeping you waiting Rinoa, I was a little busy taking care of our "stubborn" patient."

Rinoa frowned slightly, knowing who she was talking about.

"That's Squall for you, I suppose..." she lamented with a sigh and pinched her nose bridge, "Always itching to put his team first before anything else."

"Especially if it means depriving himself of a full recovery," Cloud added in knowingly.

Rinoa nodded in agreement then looked back to Aerith.

"So I assume that you managed to get him to get some rest then?" she questioned.

Aerith shrugged slightly, "Eventually. He was a little resistant at first, but he quickly came around once I gave him some... persuasion."

It took the young sorceress no less than a few seconds to realise what the Cetra was talking about. Rinoa held up a hand to her mouth, struggling not to burst out laughing.

"Y-You gave him... t-the look..." she chortled out, "Oh wow... I-I could just... i-imagine what... his reaction w-was... tee hee..."

Cloud could not help but chuckle along as well. Now that he was away from the broody gunman, he needn't have to hold back his humour.

"And I thought that Auron's reaction was the best one," Rinoa remarked, which only made her laughter struggle even harder, "And that guy said that no one could affect him emotionally!"

"E-Excuse me?" Lucrecia suddenly called out, although she too had an amused smile on her face, "As entertaining at this is, I'm afraid I must remind you to refrain from making any loud noises in this Wing."

In protest, Rinoa made a face at her, but she ultimately relented with a raise of her arms.

"Guess I'll go check up on the Mr Grumpy Pants again," she then stated cheerfully, and then looked down at her wrist like she had a watch on it, "It's almost time for his next therapy session anyways!"

Waving goodbye to the others, she brisked her way out of the Wing.

As Aerith waved after her, Cloud slowly came up beside her with folded arms.

"Are you... ever gonna tell her that her sessions never work?" he asked in a hushed whisper.

Aerith kept on smiling in ignorant bliss and waving after the departing Sorceress, "... Let her keep believing that they do. I don't think we wish to contend with a grumpy Sorceress as well."

Cloud nodded his head in understanding, although he could not help but smirk at the prospect of Squall and Rinoa being a grouchy couple. Now THAT would be something worth seeing. He turned his attention back to the slumbering female patient, who Aerith was currently tending to.

After spending about a moment or so feeling the life energy inside of the person, Aerith gasped aloud, "Incredible... her life force is one of the strongest that I have ever seen..."

Cloud's ears perked up with interest at this.

"Define strongest," he prompted his friend.

Aerith retracted her hands from the woman's forehead and looked back to both the blonde and Lucrecia.

"Well... it's not really on par with Sephiroth's essence unfortunately," she admitted. Cloud sighed quietly to himself and lowered his head in disappointment.

"... but she does have the potential to surpass that level."

His eyes went wide instantaneuosly.

"What do you mean by that?" Lucrecia questioned Aerith, her curiosity and sense of hope peaking, "Sephiroth now has a possible competitor?"

Aerith shook her head, "No. Not a competitor - a _squasher_."

Cloud and Lucrecia gasped at her revelation.

"But it shouldn't be possible!" Lucrecia attempted to deny the absurdity, "No normal person should ever have such level of power! That's just the stuff of legends and myths!"

Cloud stroked his chin thoughtfully then pointed out, "But then how do you explain the Lifestream, Jenova, the materia and Meteor? Those should've been the stuff of fantasies for us too."

Lucrecia opened her mouth to argue logic again, but then his own point of logic slowly dawned on her.

"That's true..." she admitted sheepishly.

Looking back to Aerith, Cloud asked, "So does this mean that we have a trump card?"

Aerith hummed in thought, "Well... I can't really say for sure. The memories that I had seen displayed proof that she had lost her abilities before encountering Sephiroth. But I can still sense a faint trace of it lingering on in her DNA. If it were to awaken..."

Cloud narrowed his eyes and nodded his head.

"Right. We'll have to make sure Sephiroth doesn't grab her when we make our escape," he declared seriously, "If you could sense that level of power, chances are he's managed to pick it up as well. It would drive him even more to invade our camp with sheer force."

"Agreed. A power like that should never be in the hands of those who aspire to conquer... especially if that person's my own son," Lucrecia concurred, her eyes glinting with guilt and sadness.

Aerith noticed this and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Cloud meanwhile had turned to look back at the slumbering pink-haired. While he couldn't control the Lifestream like Aerith could, he was still able to tell what kind of life a person had led, just by his or her appearance alone. His eyes traced her uniform, which meant she had been part of a military unit at some point in her life, and then at the glowing lines on her left shoulder pauldron.

It took him quite a bit to see that those were not there just for the light show.

" _It's her rank marks..."_ he thought to himself, _"Lieutenant, if I had to guess."_

And then he took notice of the countless scars and bruises on her arms and legs.

 _"She must've been fightin' like hell wherever she came from. But what events could have put her through all that?"_

And then he looked down upon the features on her face. Contorted, hardened, and weary. Not a good mix. And yet... she looked so peaceful as she slept. Cloud could not help be feel sympathetic towards her. He had this funny feeling at the back of his head. This woman, she reminded him of... himself...

"Cloud!" Aerith's voice snapped him back to reality.

With a startled grunt, he spun around to face the Cetra who suddenly had a playful look on her face, and Lucrecia who was reminding her to keep her volume down.

"If you're done doing your little "inspection" on our patient..." she dramatically chatised him, "She has some visitors that have come to see her."

Cloud's cheeks flushed red for a brief second, before he resumed his stoic seriousness.

"Sure, by all means," he replied with a curt nod.

Aerith still maintained that mischievous smile of hers, and Cloud had a sinking feeling that that meant the rest of his week was not going to go peacefully, before she turned back to Lucrecia and gestured for her to go ahead.

The scientist brisked off towards the entrance, and a second later, the group arrived at the bed. Cloud recognised them as the stragglers he had helped brought back earlier. And needless to say, they did not arrive in a peaceful manner.

"LIGHTNING!" Snow cried out as he came charging over to the woman, a frantic and worried look etched on his proud features.

Behind him, the rest of his comrades closed up the distance, and Lucrecia behind them trying say "No running in the Rebirth Wing!"

Whether or not they ignored her or they were just too worried to even care about hospital rules, it did not matter either way as they all brushed past Aerith and Cloud and all gathered around the woman's bed.

"Damn it all, Light," Fang muttered softly with relief, "You just had to get yourself into a pickle."

"She can't help it," Snow stated with a soft chuckle, "Trouble always seems to find her wherever she goes."

"But she will recover... right?" Vanille asked anxiously.

Cloud noted that both she and Fang had those weird accents.

"She's been through worst scrapes than this," Noel stated positively, "If she could survive Caius and Bhunivelze, Lightning will survive anything."

It was then that Aerith chose to step into their little circle.

"Excuse me?" she called out. Almost immediately the friends of the woman called Lightning turned around to face her.

"If I may ask, I assume you are friends with this patient?" Aerith questioned further.

Fang nodded her head, "Damn right she is, sister. You're Aerith and that's Cloud, right? Can't thank you people enough for saving us from that gothic boy duo and that maniac of a deity."

Aerith waved a hand, "It's quite alright, Fang. Just doing what we felt was right. We all have the right to choose our own destiny, not Sephiroth."

Snow grinned slightly, "Amen to that."

Cloud took a small step forth towards the bed and asked, "So... you said that your friend's name is Lightning."

"That's what she likes to call herself anyway," Snow stated, "Which is kinda coincidental, considering your name is kinda similar to hers."

Aerith brightened happily and Cloud paled substantially. He had a bad feeling what was coming next.

"How didn't I notice it before?!" she exclaimed joyfully, "Cloud and Lightning! And lightning cannot exist without clouds!"

Cloud shuffled his feet around, "And this is my cue to see myself out..."

But Aerith grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him close to her.

"Oh no you don't, mister!" she chatsied playfully, and her grip tightened even more, "I think you should be the first person to greet her when she wakes up!"

Cloud looked away from her, acting rather timid.

"Actually... that wouldn't be a bad idea," Snow concurred with a joking tone, "Your appearance and the way you talk reminds me a little bit of Lightning. Seeing you guys interact ought to be quite something."

Cloud tried to protest back, "B-But I..."

"Relax blondie," Fang assured him with a grin, "Light won't bite you, less of course you gave her reason to. But seeing as you act a lot like her, I think she'll _warm_ up to you quickly... if ya catch my drift."

That was the final straw. A blushing Cloud managed to wrest his arm free from Aerith and turned heel and ran as fast as he could. Lucrecia looked on as he left, and basically gave up all hope of imposing rules. Sighing in exasperation at his dramatic exit, Aerith looked back to the others.

"Don't mind him," she said apologetically, "He can be quite a character sometimes."

Fang chuckled softly, "Don't worry about it. We weren't really planning on making 'em go for it like a blind date. Just by looking at 'im I could that that friend of yours clearly needs a bit more fun in his life, is all."

"Um... I hate to interrupt a conversation but..." Vanille spoke up from her place beside Lightning, "Do you know how long more before she can wake up?"

Lucrecia looked down at the notes and calculations she scribbled on her clipboard.

"Well... judging by how quickly your friend is recovering..." she responded, "I would say maybe another day or so."

Hope, who had been silent this whole time alongside Sazh, raised an eyebrow and finally asked aloud, " _That_ fast?"

Aerith nodded her head, "Mmm hmm. According to Doctor Crescent here, Lightning's vitals are recovering thrice the speed of our other patients, which is quite amazing given the statistics."

She leaned forward, a look of interest plastered on her face.

"I suppose you guys have any ideas as to how or why?" she inquired. "Um uh..."

Snow trailed off awkwardly, and he shared glances with his peers. They were all unsure as how to explain the whole story.

Eventually, Sazh replied back with, "It's kind of a long story, kid..."

Aerith was unfazed by that excuse.

"Really? I could count the thousand times I've heard that answer," she stated casually, "Besides, I've got plenty of time."

The group were still undecided as to what to do, and the Cetra felt slightly guilt about forcefully prying into their past.

She was almost tempted to say that she had already seen a majority of Claire Farron's memories through the Lifestream, but then she would be giving wrong impressions of intruding on privacy. Not that she hadn't heard those accusations before, but they were never pleasant ones.

Before long a unanimous vote was passed, Snow quickly addressing her again.

"Then you might wanna take a seat for this one," he said as Hope helpfully pulled up an unused chair from a neighbouring bed.

Aerith nodded to the younger teen gratefully and she plopped onto the seat, her hand lapped over each other neatly over her legs like she was sitting in for a painted portrait. From there, she listened intently to the stories that Snow and his friends gave her.

Lucrecia also took down some notes as she lent her ears to the tales being said, her curiosity peaking at some points. A floating artificial world? Time travel? The monsters called the fal'Cie and the Cie'th? The universe can be a strange place indeed outside of your own world.

Just then, her ears heard a small shuffling of feet from some distance away, and her eyes glanced over to the entrance. While the dull ambience made the tentage appear far darker than intended, she could still make out a faint silhouette lingering close to the entrance.

Frowning slightly at the newcomer, she looked back to the others and saw they were too immersed in whatever stories they were caught up in. She quietly and silently slinked off from them and headed back over to the entrance, where she greeted the man shrouded in a red cloak.

"And here I thought you would never come to visit," she acknowledged him.

The man sighed deeply, "Apologies. Been quite busy these past few days, with the whole close-call issue."

A part of him almost regretted that sentence, knowing more than anyone else how a topic like that would have been sensitive to Lucrecia.

Lucrecia sighed softly and pinched the bridge of her nose, "It has caused quite a stir. And I feel quite unsettled at the fact that my son has become nigh unpredictable with his intentions."

She lowered her head and closed her eyes, "Kind of reminds me of that time when the Cetra told me of the atrocities Sephiroth committed back home..."

The man visibly winced, as he too recalled the day that Lucrecia had been revived by Aerith, and was told of what happened during her exile. It was almost heart-breaking to watch her break down emotionally, and when he tried to comfort her, she directed her anger at him and demanded why he had lied to her back at the Cave. He could only muster up enough morality to tell her that he was sorry, and it had driven a wedge between themselves.

Eventually overtime however, both of them managed to come to terms with what had happened and they quickly rekindled. But that still did let the guilt dry away from his consciousness. Lucrecia had been so close to him even before the whole deal with the mad scientist Hojo, that even now she was able to tell what torture he was subjecting himself to.

With a pained and sorrowful smile, she spoke gently, "Vincent. You... know I forgave you, right?"

Seeped in his usual dark thoughts, Vincent Valentine gazed into kind brown eyes with crimson eyes filled with sufferage.

"I know," he replied darkly, "But it's more than just having lied to you, Lucrecia. If only I could have done more back then... A coffin had been such a fitting fate for me."

Lucrecia shook her head and took his clawed hand into her own.

"We were victims of events that were beyond our control," she spoke, "They were already set in motion long ago; we were just teeth on the gears. We did lot of terrible things that we regretted."

Vincent closed his eyes slowly, "Yeah..."

A harrowing silence hung over the pair for a brief period of time. Eventually, Lucrecia shook her head and smiled cheerfully at him again.

"Alright. Enough of brooding over the past," she said brightly, "Let's talk about something interesting. So what do you think about the new arrivals?"

Vincent made a small shrug, "Well, I never really gave much thought to it. I just go about with my duties."

The scientist giggled softly, "Like you always do!"

She then gestured down at her clipboard.

"Before you got here, I made some interesting notes about our latest batch," she said, "And you will not believe the details they covered, or rather, they're _still_ covering back there."

Her companion leaned closer and folded his arms, investing his full interest. And from there, she went on and on, and he could tell that the majority of her speeches were probably copied over from the words of the newcomers. The more he took in the info, the more he became intrigued.

At the end of it, Lucrecia finally took in some deep breaths, apparently she had not meant to start rambling off during her explanation.

"... so to put things bluntly..." she concluded, "... Pulse is a very odd world."

Vincent made a fraction of a smirk, "Believe me. I've seen weirder things."

He mind went back to that time when everyone witnessed all of their summons communing with one another. There were so many Bahamuts, Ifrits, Shivas and Leviathans all at once, most of them (even Squall of all people) could do nothing but stare with wide eyes and gaping mouths.

Lucrecia appeared to be sharing that same memory, and she made a small giggle.

"I'll bet," she remarked knowingly.

Brushing aside a strand of her brown bangs from her eyes, she exhanged a warm smile with Vincent, and thought blissfully that it would be nice to have more conversations with him once in a while.

Back at Lightning's bed, Snow founded himself breathing at a rapid pace as he quickly finished off the recounting of Pulse. Admittedly, he had expected the conversation to go on for much longer, but since Aerith had a number of questions, it enabled him and his friends to skip a majority the skippable parts.

Sadly the part where Sazh got embarassed by a Cactuar wasn't, and it almost brought a flush of red to the afro-haired gunman.

A moment of silence followed where Aerith processed all the info that had been talked about.

"Well... that was quite a story..." she mused thoughtfully and gazed back up to them with sympathetic sadness, "You guys have been through so much. And to think that Sephiroth robbed you of a second chance..."

The party from Pulse all nodded their heads solemnly. Their own deaths at that madman's hands were still fresh in their minds.

Aertih's heart stung with ache just thinking about the newest score of victims that had fell prey to Sephiroth.

 _"One day... he will answer for all the lives that he ruined..."_ she thought deeply, _"One day... all of this will be set right again..."_

And then she stared at the group once more, and then at Lightning. Compared to the other groups, this one was by far the most interesting bunch. And considering all that they had been through, Aerith was more than happy to let them take all the time they needed to recuperate.

But then she thoughts drifted back to the fight at the outer defences of the haven. Moat of Squall's and Barret's party had been injured, and now they were suddenly short of defenders until they recover. And since Snow and his friends were all fighters...

With a reluctant sigh, she rose up from her chair addressed, "Well... I feel quite guilty for even saying this but... I must ask for your help."

Lightning's party raised their eyebrows at this, with Snow asking, "Oh really? Regarding...?"

"We are kind of short on manpower," Aerith explained, "During the last attack, a handful from our search parties were injured, including Lightning here. Because of this, a majority of our fighters will be on the sidelines until they recover. And since the majority of the people here are civilians, we have very little reserves to turn to... Which me brings me to you guys, unfortunately."

The others nodded their head, knowing where this was heading.

"So the gist of it is... you want us to help you in the defence department. Correct?" Fang clarified with folded arms.

Aerith hesitated momentarily before she nodded, "Yes. But if you believe that it's all too sudden for you, then I will respect your decision."

Humming deeply, Snow looked over to the others and asked, "So what do you guys think? Wanna get it on with big players?"

Noel nodded his head almost immediately, "I'm in, if it means having a possible chance at fighting Sephiroth again."

Fang took a step forth and grinned, "Well when ya put it that way, I believe I owe that pretty boy sonny some payback for that cheap shot death, and one for poisoning me too."

From beside her, Vanille piped up, "Wherever Fang goes, I will follow."

Hope seemed a little uncertain for a brief second, before ultimately he replied, "Sure, why not? As long as there's people here to help out."

At that point, all eyes were turned to Sazh, the one of the remaining two to give an answer. Wincing from all the sudden attention he was receiving, the gunman stuttered over his jumbled words for while before he inhaled a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"As much as I'm tempted to hang up my coat and boots and call it a day... I can't. Not when I've got a son to find," he stated grimly, "So yeah, you can count me in."

Snow grinned mischievously, the votes all decided.

"Alright! NORA's back in business!" he declared boldly with a pumped up fist.

Aerith was amused by his burst of joy and eagerness, and she easily sensed how much he had been itching to jump back into the fray.

 _"Ooh... Barret's not gonna be thrilled about having another terrorist group joining us..."_ she thought with a sly grin.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, kid," Fang told him with a smirk, "This ain't like your band of terrorists back on Cocoon."

Snow waved a hand, "I know, I know. It's just that I've always wanted to bring back the party for as long as I lived. Feeling a little nostalgic for the good ol' days."

"Your idea of nostalgia might make a certain you-know-who a little queasy when she wakes up," Hope stated with a slightly wary glance to Lightning, "Y'know, after what happened in the Purge and all."

Snow barked out a laugh, "Nah! Sis'll come 'round eventually, you'll see! Why, just imagine the prospects of..."

Unknown to all of them, if they had spared a few more seconds of looking at Lightning, they would have noticed that her fingers were beginning to move slightly and her closed eyelids twitching.


	12. A Bolt of Lightning

**Things have been pretty rough for me the past couple of months concerning this story. The number of views have been slowly dripping, and there seemed to be a lack of comments as well. With that being said, I was starting to have seconds thoughts putting this story under Final Fantasy VII, and so as of recently I decided to move it over to the FFVII x Avengers page.**

 **And lo and behold, it turned out to be a great decision, considering that this story now feels more like a Dissidia/Avengers story than a FFVII AU! It seemed more appropriate now.**

 **So special thanks to** **calzy, PhantomGirl17 and snakeyeeees for following/favoriting this story so far this year, as well as all the others that have been following/favoriting. Your continuous support will drive me forwards to finishing this!**

 **Also Avengers Endgame is finally being released! Yes! I'm gonna go watch it and enjoy the best 3 hours of my life!**

* * *

Life went on as humanely possible in the camp, but as compared to a few days earlier, almost everyone was on edge. It was hard to keep the news from flying from ear to ear. Sephiroth had finally discovered their hideout, and who knew what he was plotting next.

But out of all the ones on edge, perhaps the wariest of them all was Cloud, who had the longest known history with the god more than anyone else.

Even after millennia, he still felt a sense of heaviness that was draped over his shoulders.

A feeling of guilt that washed over him. It became quite an irritation after while, and he would do almost anything to distract himself away from the dark memories.

And today was basically him just trying to temper down that pain with tenfold of his normal efforts.

His eyes focused intensely on the training dummies in front of him, he twirled on the handle of Buster Sword and leapt up high into the air. With a loud cry, he held his sword over his head before bringing it down in a diagonal arc.

With just one slice, the dummies were cut in two, and the SOLDIER landed gracefully on his right knee.

Taking in deep, sharp breaths, he got back up and turned around to face a new set of dummies that were staring at him blankly. Taunting him like the Sons themselves.

Grunting, Cloud sheathed his weapon and channelled in the magic that was coursing through the Lifestream. Three bolts of lightning flashed down from the cloudless skies and struck their targets with deadly precision. All that was left were piles of ash.

As he paused to collect his strength, he heard a voice calling out from afar, "Looks like someone's started without me."

Cloud gazed to his left, towards a familiar face as she simply smiled back at him, with her hands at her hips. His shoulders relaxing slightly, Cloud smiled back thinly.

"Not my fault you chose to go overtime, Tif," he replied with a hint of smugness in his tone.

Letting her hands fall at her sides, Tifa started walking over to him.

"Can you blame me? Things have been quite hectic at the office," she stated with a light shrug, "The Boss Lady's been riding on all our asses like there's no tomorrow."

Cloud raised a brow, "Aerith?"

Tifa shook her head, "Quistis. She did become second-in-command for a reason." _"Probably also why Barret called her Boss Lady,"_ Cloud added mentally.

Speaking of whom, he wondered aloud, "I thought Barret was second-in-command?"

"True... but considering how foul-mouth and ill-tempered he normally is, we were all considering taking him off of that role. Him being in the medical bay only sped up that ruling."

Cloud shrugged his shoulders the more he thought about it. It was true that almost everyone in their defence commitee were always on their last nerves, even during the moments Barret opened his mouth to say something. And the big man himself was extremely unhappy once he got demoted hours ago.

Ah well, it was for the best anyways.

"So... I heard about what happened at the Rebirth Wing earlier," Tifa suddenly said as she came to stop next to him, unaware of how the blonde froze up visibly, "Is the patient truly what Aerith described her to be?"

A contemplative look crossed Cloud's features.

"I've never doubted Aerith considering what she can do through the Lifestream," he mused in deep thought, "So if this Lightning person does have some great power sleeping within her, then it'd be in our best interest to keep her tight in our back pocket."

"I see..." Tifa acknowledged with a slow nod and a small frown, "But is Sephiroth even aware about this?"

"If he was, then he would've shown up here with a lot more powerful monsters, and would've pushed forwards against Aerith's shields."

Cloud looked back to her, "But obviously we can't take any chances. Who knows when that son of a bitch might choose to strike again. We must be prepared if it comes down to it. At least he'll know that we won't go down that easily."

Nodding in understanding, Tifa removed her gloves from her pocket and wore them on her bare hands.

Getting into her fighting stance, she narrowed her eyes at Cloud in deep focus. "Ready."

Cloud swiftly drew out Buster Sword and held it out directly at his sparring partner. "Ready."

Both combatants held their ground for a few tense seconds, as they for the first move to be made. Thankfully, the training grounds they were on were a relative distance away from the haven, so they needn't worry about anyone getting caught in the crossfire during their little spar.

With a great burst of speed, Cloud thrusted forwards, his blade swinging for Tifa's stomach, but she quickly jumped out of the way and he only hit air. Attention focusing on his exposed back, Tifa leapt and balled her right fist for a direct punch to his ribs.

Cloud took one glance behind him and only had a few seconds to spin around and hold up his weapon in defence.

With a "CLANG!", fist struck hard metal, and Tifa winced at the stinging pain eating at her fingers. Following up, Cloud delivered a sharp kick to her gut that sent her flying back a couple of feet.

Gasping for air that escaped her lungs, Tifa's eyes widened at the sight of Cloud diving out of the air, Buster Sword now ablaze in a blue aura. She barely managed to roll out of the way before the blade struck the surface, causing tons of rock and debris to fly into the air.

Quickly regaining of her senses, Tifa charged directly at Cloud, and channelled for fire energy to be conjured up in her fists.

With a great burst of strength, she engaged Cloud in close combat, her fiery fists coming in a second after the otherand not giving the blonde enough room to counteract.

Eventually a punch was made directly in Cloud's chest and he hissed from the white-hot pain. Now dangerously stunned, he leapt backwards and casted Cure on his smoking injury.

He sighed softly at the quicky relief, but that almost costed him another injury as Tifa went straight at him again.

From there on, Cloud was on the defensive, as he hastily swung his sword about to deflect every blow and punch his childhood friend was throwing at him. And as tempting as it was for him to use Buster Sword to inflict injuries on Tifa, he couldn't really bring himself to do it.

No force in time and space would ever make him harm Tifa.

Eventually however, his strength gave out, and his moves became more sluggish. Tifa took advantage of this and disarmed him of his weapon with one solid kick to the handle.

Cloud could only watch in disoriented helplessness as his precious weapon went flying out of his reach.

And then he felt nothing but pain as Tifa quickly delivered sharp and swift jabs to every part of his upper body. She did a backflip to get some distance from his stunned form before she prepared for her finishing move.

"Final Heaven!" she cried out and shot her hand forwards.

A great trail of blue explosion shot right out at Cloud, and it was all he could to try and leap of the way, in which he wasn't able to at all.

With a yell, he was sent flying backwards a couple of feet before he landed back on the ground again. As his body screamed all over from the aches and pain, he struggled to rise back to his feet, but he only got so far as a chest lift before he collapsed again, defeated.

Naturally as a military man, he was quite used to injuries and great agony, so it didn't really bother him that much. And since he was only training with Tifa, the pain would not last long anyway.

And so it did when Tifa casted Curaga on him a few seconds later.

Breathing a sigh of relief from his healed injuries, Cloud tilted his head up to see Tifa look down at him with a playful smiled.

With a forced chuckle, he remarked, "Sometimes I can't tell if you're pulling your punches or not."

Tifa chuckled, "I guess it comes with the territory."

She extended her hand to offer her support, and Cloud gladly took it, allowing her to help him back up to his feet. Before they could exchange more words, they heard the sound of slow, dramatic clapping coming from close by.

The duo turned their heads around, to catch sight of the Wutai Ninja.

The short-haired teen was lazily leaning on her shuriken that was planted into the ground by one of its four spiked blades, and she had a coy smile on her face.

"Wow Cloud, way to get your ass whooped so quickly!" she remarked, "And by a woman no less!"

Cloud took on his signature frown, and already a sarcastic quip was about to escape from his lips.

But then Tifa beaten him to the punch, "It was nothing; just Cloud being all gentlemanly again."

She smirked mischievously at the blonde who suddenly looked bashful.

"I-I let you have the upper hand on purpose..." he defended weakly.

But he knew the better reason why he lost that spar, as well as every other one that he had with Tifa over the years. He just didn't think that he would have an audience to witness them when it happened.

Yuffie nodded her head slowly, like she was really considering it.

"Right..." she drawled then turned to Tifa, "How many times already?"

"A couple thousand times I think...? Unless I'm wrong. Could be more than that."

Yuffie burst out laughing, and Cloud's eyes widened quickly as turned to his childhood friend and exclaimed, "Tifa!"

Tifa shrugged, and she actually had the gall to grin sheepishly, "Sorry Cloud, it was gonna come out of the bag sooner or later."

"Oh man! You actually got wiped on the floor by Tifa all this time?!" Yuffie cackled in-between gasps, "Why didn't I find this place sooner?! I mean, kudos for finding such a nice spot to practice away from "prying eyes", if ya now what I mean!"

His cheeks flushing red from growing embarassment, Cloud turned his head away.

"I've known Tifa my entire life," he explained, "I never wanted to hurt her."

Tifa could not help but frown slightly at his explanation. So that explained why he had been holding back against her in all their matches, especially back on Gaea.

If there was one trait she took pride in, it was being a very keen observer. Against other opponents as well as their other friends, Cloud would hold nothing back and let loose all of his strength and might. But when it came to her on the other hand, it felt like... he wasn't even trying at all, like he wanted her to gain the quick upper hand over him.

At first she passed it off, believing that her childhood friend was merely taken by surprise by how she was far more experienced and quick on her feet since Nibelheim. But after a while, her winning streak was suddenly becoming quite repetitive, and she had quickly taken notice, especially of Cloud's attitude when it came to her.

He looked far more reluctant, and far more reserved whenever she wanted to spar with him. Of course he never showed it on his serious expressions, but the eyes never lie, even if they were filled with Mako energy. She supposed it was a natural response, considering she had made him promise to always protect her no matter what.

Was the promise affecting him in a far deeper manner than she had first thought? She clearly needed to have a talk with him some time in the future.

"So let's just say that if I decided to fight you now..." Yuffie's voice broke through her train of thought, "Would you let this girl have the win too?"

As Tifa watched expectantly, Cloud's embarassment was quickly shirked off and he glared down the Ninja fiercely.

"You're welcomed to try," he stated evenly with a smirk.

Yuffie stared at him with a look that said "Oh please..." before she pulled out her shuriken and got into her fighting stance.

Cloud held out Buster Sword in front of him and stood in his guard stance. Knowing that another spar had started, Tifa quickly walked off to the side, putting some distance between herself and the pair until she was far enough away. From where she was, she looked on at the other two with a smile and folded arms. She had been in too many spars to know how it was going to end.

Yuffie made the first move. Spinning her shuriken expertly in her hand, she leapt high up into the air above Cloud and hurled her weapon right at him like a boomerang.

With a quick swing, the blonde swatted the shuriken to the side like a fly. But he had angled his swing in such a way that the shuriken clattered to the ground instead of flying back to its user.

Before Yuffie could react, Cloud had leapt upwards and delivered a solid kick to her gut, sending her flying back down to the ground hard.

With a loud "OOF!" she landed hard on her butt, and kicked up dust underneath her as she skidded to a stop.

"Oh..." she groaned softly in pain from where she was on the ground.

The battle finished as quickly as it began, Tifa sidled up over to Cloud's side, and they both looked down with pitiful expressions at the defeated Ninja.

"As always, Mako energy beats ninja skills," she remarked with a loud sigh.

Hopping up to her feet, Yuffie glared them both down.

"That was grade A cheating to me!" she refuted with a huff and a pout, "I came back from that scuffle with Sephiroth barely alive! Gimme a break!"

Cloud and Tifa shared a look.

"Would if we could," the former stated bluntly, "If you hadn't have Selphie smuggle Barret's Cure materia into the medical tentage."

Yuffie pointed a finger at him and was prepared to rebuff him some more, when suddenly there was a loud explosion coming from the haven site. The trio looked around, surprised to see a huge mushroom cloud shooting upwards into the sky.

Then Yuffie spotted a tiny dot flying off to the other end of the site and she squinted her eyes at it.

"... I didn't know Barret could fly..." she commented confusingly.

Cloud and Tifa looked alarmed by this piece of knowledge.

"The Rebirth Wing!" the latter exclaimed worriedly.

Nodding his head, Cloud furrowed his eyebrows, slung Buster Sword back over his back and raced ahead back to the haven.

Yuffie noticed his abrupt departure and called out, "Whoa whoa, SOLDIER boy! Where're you going?!"

Either he didn't hear or chose to ignore her, for he continued on ahead with a glance back to the two females. She then looked to Tifa, a demanding look on her face.

"You mentioned Barret hurtling through the air, right?" Tifa asked the Ninja who nodded hastily, "Well, since he was with your party earlier, where else would he be right now?"

Yuffie's eyes widened, as if she suddenly remembered something.

"Oh... right..." she murmured.

Tifa started taking brisked steps towards the haven, Yuffie following close behind.

Casting a look over her shoulder, Tifa instructed, "I'll go on ahead and back Cloud up. You go find Barret and bring him to a safer area."

"What?! But I wanna get in on the fun too!" Yuffie whined like a little child.

Tifa gave her a hard stare, "There's no time to argue about this! Just do as I say! Because I have a feeling this isn't just an ordinary accident!"

Yuffie opened her mouth to retort, but then she slowly closed her mouth and thought over her options. Ultimately, she let out a sigh and nodded her head.

"Whatever..." she grumbled under her breath, sounding a bit like Squall when she did.

Tifa nodded her head firmly and from there, the two went on their separate ways. Yuffie heading for wherever Barret landed at, and Tifa heading right towards the heart of the fire. If what she heard was true, then their newest patient might take a little effort to control.

* * *

With a winded cough and a effortful heave, a barely conscious Squall slowly and carefully mamaged to pull himself put of the wreckage that had once been the medical facility.

All over his body, cuts that had been sealed up by Cure spells and bandages were reopened, allowing streams of blood to trickle out and soak his clothes like a leaky faucet.

He hadn't seen it coming. No one could have.

One moment it was all peace and quiet, and the next, a huge explosion of thunder and lightning that decimated the entire medical tentage. The blast was not the one that dealt him the injuries and he should have been thankful for that, but now he was reconsidering that thought.

There was set of footsteps slowly and calmly approaching his injured form, in a sort of dangerous way, and he did not like one bit of it.

All his instincts were screaming at him to keep going, but he knew better.

That stereotypical move would only get you so far, but the result would still be the same either way.

Suddenly there was a sharp kick of a heel of a foot and Squall gasped as he rolled until his back laid against the ground.

And there he saw her, the pink-haired woman who was towering over him like a giant. He remembered her from when they fought together against the Ravages horde.

But now instead of that expression of comradery, she was now glaring down at him, like he was merely an ant to her boot.

Kneeling down beside him, Lightning narrowed her eyes darkly.

"What did you do to her?" she asked monotonously. Squall could not help but raise a brow, "W-Who...?"

A hand dove down and cupped tightly at his throat. The mercenary gurggled for air and desperarately clawed at his neck.

"Come on, time's up!" she practically snarled in his face, "Tell me what you did to Serah, or you'll suffer a fate worse than death!"

Squall opened his mouth a little, but he was struggling too much just to utter out a coherant word.

"Hmph! And to think you led an assault on Valhalla just so you could kill Etro, Caius!"

He paused in his movements, suddenly taken aback by what she just said.

"What... do you... mean?" he managed to croak out.

Lightning gritted her teeth, "Still trying to play coy with Etro's Champion, are we? Fine...! Maybe I ought to help jog your memory a little!"

She raised her free fist and balled it tightly.

Just before she could throw the first punch however, a pair of hands wrapped around her arms and forcefully pull her off from Squall, who took big chunks of air into his freed throat.

"LET GO!" Lightning cried out in anguish as she fought against her captor.

"That's enough, Light!" Fang snapped at the pink-hair who struggled against her grip, "Get a hold of yourself!"

The only response she got was a big elbow to her face and a kick to the knee which forced her to relinquish her grip.

Lightning promptly made a beeline for Squall again only to be stopped this time by Snow and Sazh, both of whom stepped right in front of her.

"Come on, soldier!" Sazh spoke to her as calmly as he could, sweat beading on his forehead from his nervousness, "Snap out of it! You're causing a massive scene 'ere!"

"This is the best you can muster, Caius?!" Lightning growled under her breath, "Illusions?! It's gonna take more than that to get inside my head!"

"Caius isn't here, sis!" Snow snapped at her, "He's with Yuel now in the afterlife! Out of our hairs forever! Now could ya please get a hold of yourself? 'Cause this drama isn't gonna end well if you continue on like this!"

Undeterred, Lightning shot forwards and kicked both men down to the ground.

She then spotted Vanille and Hope whom were attempting to help get Squall out of the way to safety. Pale aqua blue eyes flaring, she stormed over to them and reached for their necks. With cries of surprise, the two teens founded themselves tossed aside like ragdolls away from Squall, which left no more obstacles between Lightning and the injured mercenary.

"No where left to run, Caius," she sneered darkly as she reached towards his neck again.

But then her fingers suddenly brushed against something hard and smooth. Raising an eyebrow at this, Lightning carressed the surface that suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Guess there's something I can thank Reno for," a male voice grunted from behind her.

She spun around, coming face-to-face with a man with blonde hair and blue eyes that were staring right back at her. Letting out a cry, she lunged herself at him, only hit another wall that seemed have appeared out of nowhere.

Her eyes widening, Lightning started feeling all around the walls that had surrounded her. She hadn't realised that this newcomer had casted some magical prism cell, until now.

With renewed rage, she charged right at the blonde and began pounding away at the wall with everything she had.

He remained unfazed and simply watched her futile effort until she finally stopped minutes later. By now Squall was successfully escorted away by Vanille and Hope whom had taken advantage of the pink-hair's distraction. And Snow, Sazh and Fang had recovered, thanks in part to Cure spells casted by an arriving Tifa.

The five allies stared pitifully at their unwilling prisoner, and she glared right back at them, her eyes blazing angrily. With a heavy sigh, Snow raked fingers through his long hair.

"Damn it sis... what did that bastard do to you...?" he grunted with frustration laced in his voice.

"Whatever he did must've scrambled her brains a lot," Sazh commented morbidly.

Tifa stroked her chin, "We can't anymore conclusions, at least until Aerith takes a look at her. Maybe there was something that we've left out..."

 _"_ _SLAM!"_

"I can still hear you," Lightning growled from inside her cell, still looking rather unhappy but at least her fury had subsided substantially.

Placing both hands on the wall, she continued, "I have no idea what you idiots are going on about, but considering that you're just Caius' illusions, I think I'm fine. Now release me and I promise to only leave your heads intact when I destroy you."

Snow, Fang and Sazh could only stare at her in dumbfoundment.

"Yup, she's scrambled up bad alright..." Sazh declared with a shake of his head.

"Getting a little edgy, aren't we Light?" Fang snarked with her hands at her hips, "That's so unlike you, even as the Goddess of Death."

Cloud and Tifa raised their eyebrows at this.

"I-I'm sorry, could you run that by us again...?" Tifa asked anxiously, "It's almost as though you said she was the-"

"Enough of this!" Lightning suddenly snarled, her rage renewed, and everyone looked back to her, "Release me! Now! Before I _really_ lose my temper!"

Cloud narrowed his eyes at her, "Try as you might, the only way to break this prism is from the outside; exactly where you wished you were in this situation. Since you're not, it's best to stand down. Now."

Lightning gritted her teeth hard as she stared him down for a brief moment. But then unexpectingly, a smile was forming on her face.

Cloud did not like where this was heading.

"Is that so...?" Lightning muttered under her breath, as she subtly hid her right hand behind her back, and felt it charging up with powerful red electrical currents, "Then how about... THIS?!"

She drove a lightning-charged punched right at the prism wall, and the cell exploded upon collision. The shockwave sent the other flying backwards before they could even react, shock and surprise evident upon their features.

Cloud drew out Buster Sword and planted it swiftly into the ground, gripping at its handle as he grinded to a halt.

As he looked back up, his eyes widened at the sight of Lightning walked slowly towards him, her body now fully covered with angry red lightning snaking up and down her limbs and chest. Her irises were now also glowing the same colour as they came in contact with Cloud's own.

As he got to his feet, Cloud carefully reached into his pocket and activated the emergency beacon. It was basic protocol for all available personnel to converge on another's position for support, and that included Aerith. He just needed to hold out as long as he could until then.

Holding out Buster Sword in front of him, he charged forwards and swung the blunt end right at Lightning's torso. The pink-hair swiflty ducked to the side and shot a powerful bolt that Cloud barely managed to block.

The metal blade was suddenly filled with electricity, but the hilt was made of non-conductive material, much to his relief.

Balling a fist, Lightning attempted to deliver a punch, but Cloud side-stepped her and delivered a kick to her back, which sent her stumbling back a few paces. Shrugging off the pain like it was nothing, Lightning extended out her hands and shot more bolts his way.

Cloud attempted to dodge out of the way, but this time the bolts crept right after him like homing missles, and they struck right in his back.

He let out a loud yell as the bolts shot through his skin and coursed through his body like wildfire. The SOLDIER fell to the ground in a heap, convulsing uncontrallably from the barrage.

Standing above him, Lightning prepared to assault him with another barrage, but that when someone else hopped right in front of her.

With his gun Death Penalty loaded and aimed, Vincent unloaded a hail of bullets right at her. Alarmed by this Lightning quickly lifted up her hands and created a protective barrier around herself.

The bullets deflected off of the shield with no damage done, but Vincent did not let up on his offensive, at least until his magazine was emptied. Once the last bullet was shot, Lightning lowered her shield and nimbly launched the man away with a powerful curb stomp to the chest.

A resounding _"crack!"_ accompanied the flying gunman as he fell to the side.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw more bogies converging on her position. About three of them she noted, and in military garb. She outstretched her palm and shot more red bolts at them.

"WAH!" One of them, a teenage girl with a weird hairstyle, screamed out as she was blasted back by the current. Her other three colleagues barely managed to roll out of the harm's way.

"Selphie!" Zell cried in horror at his downed comrade.

Quistis narrowed her eyes at the pink-hair, "We have to stop her before she does any more damage to the haven!"

"Then how do you suppose we incapacitate a woman who's literally on _electricity?!_ " Zell demanded, pointing a finger at Lightning and the red volt currents coursing all over her body.

Before Quistis could even respond to that query, Lightning suddenly appeared in front of them and gripped them by their heads.

Both Balamb mercenaries gritted their teeth as they felt electricity attacking every nerve in their brains. In one swift move, Lightning bashed their skulls together and they crumpled to the ground unconscious.

Dusting off her hands, she turned her attention back to Cloud again, noticing that Tifa was now at his side tending to him.

The other woman glanced up towards her and the two females locked eyes for a tense moment. Slowly rising to her feet, Tifa readjusted her gloves before getting into her fighting pose.

"I don't wish to do this," she stated cautiously, "But you are endangering thousands of innocent lives in this haven, and that's something I can't let continue."

Lightning let out a huff, "Hmph! You illusions clearly talk too much. I'll have to do something about that."

She too got into a boxing position, and Tifa noted her electrical powers had faded.

Good. Let this be an even match. No magic and no tricks. Just their fists.

Wasting no time at all, Tifa made the first move. She launched herself into a running start and went for a sharp roundhouse kick.

Lightning hopped to the side to avoid getting hit and she attempted a hook to her opponent's jaw. Expertly deflecting the blow, Tifa side-stepped around and behind her and collided her elbow with Lightning's back. Grunting from the pain, Lightning took several steps away from Tifa to recompose herself.

Eyeing the other with a look of indifference, Lightning remarked, "You're tougher than you look. I'll give you that."

Tifa smirked wryly, "I learn from the very best."

"I suppose so..." Lightning admitted like she was seriously regarding it. And then her lips curled upwards, "But are you _fast_ enough?"

In the blink of an eye, she suddenly disappeared from view, which surprised Tifa.

And then the next thing she knew was sharp pain as she felt powerful jabs pounding at her back. With a gasp, Tifa fell down to one knee, momentarily stunned by the onslaught.

Okay, forget about honor, the newcomer was definitely cheating now!

But the offensive had not let up yet as she soon founded out. Lightning zipped in from all over the place, landing punches and kicks all over her defenseless body. It happened so fast, that everything became a blur, and pain slowly gave way to growing numbness.

And then the attack had ceased, and with a croaked groan Tifa collapsed onto the ground completely, with Lightning standing proud and tall over her.

"If you think I was going to play fair against illusions, then you've another thing coming," the pink hair stated darkly and she used her foot to forcefully push Tifa closer to Cloud.

She observed both individuals for a moment, and a small sad look crossed her hardened features.

"You two are friends..." she noted softly under her breath, "Caring for one another... helping when the other goes down... It reminds me of what happened a long, long time ago..."

But then her brows furrowed and her frown returned, "But that's all in the past now. Everything that I've regretted doing I can't change. Now all I can do is look ahead to the future, to safeguard it from people like Caius."

She lifted a hand and conjured up a ball of red energy.

She looked back down to both Cloud and Tifa, and noted the resigned looks on their faces, just as they noticed the regretful glint in her eyes.

"May your souls find peace in Etro's garden..." Lightning recited solemnly and Tifa wrapped her arms tightly around the still-injured Cloud.

But just before Lightning could deal the finishing blow, she hear someone shouting something behind her, too faint to make out what was just said. All of a sudden, her red ball fizzled out in her hand and she felt a wave of numbness overwhelm her being.

With a soft gasp, Lightning stumbled backwards, suddenly feeling drained of all her magic. She heard hastened footsteps charging towards her, and before she could even turn, powerful arms began grabbing onto her own and forced her down on her knees.

She struggled and thrashed against her captors with everything she had, but to no avail. It seemed that whatever had sapped her magic, had sapped away her strength as well.

And then she caught sight of another new face, this time a young woman donned in a red and pink dress.

With an expression mixed with worry and seriousness, Aerith instructed the others behind her, "Get Tifa and Cloud out of there."

With definitive nods, Auron, Locke, Cid and Vanille quickly ran over to the downed couple and quickly escorted them to safety.

Now that Lightning was all alone, Aerith had her full attention solely on her.

"I've no idea what Sephiroth has done to you, Claire Farron..." she spoke out sombrely, and she swore she saw Lightning's face pale slightly, "But you're unintentionally, and unwillingly, achieving something that he hasn't been able to do for millennia."

She walked over to her and knelt down to her eye level. Lightning had the best snarl she could muster up and she said, "Whoever you people are, I will not allow Valhalla to fall! Not on my watch!"

Aerith regarded her silently as though she was trying to sense out something within her, and then she deduced, "You're memory has been tampered with too..."

She lifted up soft and gentle hands and cusped the sides of Lightning's head. Her eyes closed. "... No longer."

With a loud gasp, Lightning's eyes widened and stared out into open space as Aerith's hands gave off a green glow. Through the Lifestream, Aerith telepathically dove down deep into her mind, to seek out the pool of tainted Mako that Sephiroth had planted in her.

And there she saw it, spreading like cancer. Across every little detail of memory, every aspect of Claire Farron's life.

Concentrating deeply, Aerith called upon the strongest form of magic that was housed within her own spirit. A spell that Minerva had given her to safeguard just before Gaea was destroyed.

"Holy!"

White light shot out and enveloped the darkness. It recoiled like a snake and shrieked demonically in agony and fury and it rolled away until it was ultimately destroyed by the light. As the magic faded out, Aerith was relieved to see that the memories were now freed. Reorganising, rebuilding, back to their original states before Sephiroth took control.

Her work completed, Aerith willed her spirit return to her corporeal body. And then she opened her eyes and let go of her hands.

It was almost instant that Lightning went limp into unconsciousness. Morbidly, Aerith rose back to her feet and watched as Reno and Rude carried her away.

Now the only person remaining at the crime scene, her eyes trailed the destruction that the pink hair had left in her wake.

There were puddles of blood scattered here and there, and all the flammable equipment including the tentage itself were all up in flames from the explosion.

There was a certain sense of sadness that was coursing through the Ancient's mind. There had been so much destruction, so much pain caused. It would've been worse she supposed if the Lifestream hadn't supplied all the spirits here the inability to die again, but even so, that gift did not extend out to common sickness or injuries.

Hence the quick-thinking to construct this facility centuries ago. Built from whatever scraps they could gather from other worlds that became victims of Sephiroth's incursions like the rest of the haven. All that effort, wasted. Adding to that issue was the fact that there were a handful of other patients had been residing inside, and the passersby that got caught in the blast radius of the explosion.

And now that Sephiroth knew where they were hiding, she knew they could afford anymore time to building another one.

The pressure to escape this place just intensified tenfold.

Lowering her head, Aerith uttered out a single sentence.

"What are we going to do, Minerva...?"

If only the goddess were here to aid them in their time of need. But since she too went out with Gaea when Sephiroth brought down Meteor, it only left her as the sole guardian and protector of these refugees. In this small bubble of light, amidst a huge sea of darkness.

Just then, Hope slowly ambled in from behind her, his eyes too casted on the destruction in front of him. To say that he was horrified by this was an understatement.

The sting of loss and suffering had grown dull over the years since the Purge.

"I'm sorry," he could only speak out remorsefully.

Aerith turned to him with a tilt of her head. "Why do you say that?"

"The Lightning I know would never have done something like this," Hope stated quietly as he looked back at the flaming wreckage, "She has great power, but she's always exercised restraint."

He breathed a despondent sigh, "What happened that caused her to suddenly act like this?"

Aerith reached over and placed hand on his shoulder, "I can explain everything to you guys later. Right now however we must see to this little bonfire pyre."

Hope chuckled softly at her little joke and nodded in agreement.

Much work was needed to be done now, and there was no telling how extensive the damge was. Lightning was going to have to wait.

* * *

The sound of heavy footfalls echoed throughout the silent caverns as a lone white-haired individual stormed his way into his Father's chamber.

After about six hours after a humiliating retreat from that pathetic little haven at the hands of the Ancient and awaiting his youngest sibling's return, it was safe to say that Yazoo's mood had not improved.

All it took was one meager magic trick known as Holy to send them packing, and on Father's orders no less. But why would he do that though?

Father was a god, and in command of an asteroid that harboured the Lifestream. Why would he decide to pull back last minute when he could just unleash his full might upon the stragglers?

That was one topic Yazoo initially dare not bring up to his Father, but it had been bugging him so much that he decided to risk a bit of punishment.

The second concerned Kadaj. Upon returning here, Father had instructed both him and Loz to keep a look out for their third brother until his returned.

In all of their scouting missions, Kadaj had always proven to be the most effective and skilled at that particular scope.

He could easily land on a world, run through a hour-long speech about imminent destruction in just several minutes, and then quickly return back within two to three hours, with a specimen of two.

But now it had been close to _t_ _welve_ hours since his departure, and there had been no contact with him since.

That of course naturally worried Yazoo and Loz.

The three of them were stuck to together like triplets from the day their Father created them in his image. The fact that one of them was in trouble would be extremely worrying. Which was why one of them needed to apprise Father about this as soon as possible.

Eventually, Yazoo emerged into a wide-open room and at its center, a huge pool that almost covered the entirety of the ground plan.

The steam that billowed from the surface, coupled with the incredibly hotter temperature were good indicators that it was a hotspring of sorts. A Mako hotspring.

No sooner did he enter did the peaceful waters started to ripple and vibrate, as if it were acknowledging his presence. And then ominously, a head slowly broke out and emerged throught the surface, with droplets of water trickling down his wet silver hair.

Yazoo quickly knelt down on one knee, and waited anxiously as his Father fully emerged at his chest area.

His bare, toned muscles gleaming against the greenish lighting of the crystals, and his emerald green eyes boring down on his Son, Sephiroth curtly said aloud, "Report."

With his head lowered in respect and obedience, Yazoo spoke out, "Father, I bring distressing news regarding Kadaj. It has been about a day since his departure, and still he has yet to return to us."

Looking up to view his deity parent, he furthered, "I dare not fear the worse about his fate, but nevertheless Loz and I are worried by his continuous absence."

Maintaining tense silence, Sephiroth stroke his chin.

"Hmm... indeed you are right, Yazoo..." he mused thoughtfully and calmly, "It is not like him to be away on a scouting mission for this long. What has transpired I cannot truly say for now. However, I have reason to suspect that he has been compromised."

Yazoo choked back a gasp, "W-What?"

Sephiroth frowned inwardly, "I had attempted to make contact with his asteroid. However for reason unclear, his powers are not longer connected to the Lifestream itself. It's almost as though he has been cut off from it, whilst another has taken his place."

"But... how is that even possible?" Yazoo questiond aloud in confusion, "No power in the universe can rival your own, Father!"

"And yet the evidence presented to us is startling, isn't it?" Sephiroth queried, a hint of a smile showing on his face.

Yazoo seemed to have noticed it and voiced out, "You don't seem troubled by this."

Sephiroth chuckled darkly to himself.

"Of course not, no. This little issue is nothing more than a mere nuisance in my grand vision. The meager interference of that little Summoner girl will prove to be her undoing, for she understands so little the workings of the Lifestream."

He suddenly went back down into his pool before he emerged again, this time now donned in his full gear. Leather coat, shoulder pauldrons and all. Floating high in the air for a brief while, the One-Winged Angel sloely descended until he feet touched the surface of the water.

Except that he didn't back in again, for now he was actually standing on it like it was solid ground.

Gazing at Yazoo again, Sephiroth questioned, "Is there anything else you wish to discuss with me?"

Slowly rising to his feet, Yazoo cleared his throat before he slowly, and carefully, spoke out.

"Forgive me, if I am overstepping my boundaries, Father..." he said cautiously, "But I must voice out my frustrations about what took place at the mortals' safe haven. We finally had a chance to round them all up in a single move, after all these years of searching, and then what do you do? You ordered for us to _retreat!_ Retreat! In the face of victory! Why?"

Sephiroth continued staring at his Son as he spoke, his demeanor never changing as he considered the complaints. And as soon as Yazoo was done, he still kept silent on his response. And then suddenly, he began walking across the water. The heels of his boots making small ripples as he went.

"You are correct, Yazoo. We had every advantage going into our invasion of their little "fortress". We outnumbered their defenders 300-1 and they were all severely weakened once we arrived at their gates."

Stopping before his Son, Sephiroth slowly leaned down, a frightening glare slowly forming on his features.

Yazoo suddenly felt so insignificant next to his Father's presence.

"But that was where our interests differed, my Son. You were so caught up in the prospect of total victory, that you and Loz blinded yourselves to the situation. When we arrived at their gates, I sensed a odd shift in the Lifestream around us, like it wasn't in my control anymore. And it was only confirmed when that little Ancient showed up. She wiped out half of my Devil Wolves and Ravages, and with nary a weapon or casting magic. Did you ever consider why?"

Yazoo slowly blinked his eyes at him.

"It is because somehow, she had converted a part of the Lifestream to her will, and she had used it to shield their little fortress from the influence of my darkness."

"So that means... if we ever set foot in there, we become weaker?" Yazoo concluded with a somewhat paled look.

Sephiroth scoffed, "For now at least. I am a god, and the Lifestream is mine to control. Alone. It's only a matter of time before I weed out that little Ancient."

"But as long as she's alive, we can't risk setting foot there again, right?" Yazoo pointed out, "How can we even get in?"

Giving off a short laugh, Sephiroth stated, "I plan for every little detail, my Son. Right at this very moment, there is a seed that I've planted right in the heart of their fortress. And it's a parasitic sprout that is growing steadily and subtly."

With a wave of his hand, the waters of the hotspring churn a little and the misty steams slowly dissipated away.

They both stared down at it, as a newly formed image flickered into existence on the surface.

"All that is left for us to do now... is wait." Sephiroth finished with a menacing grin, his eyes fixated on the appearance of a certain pink-haired woman.

* * *

 **Looks like things are starting to get really tense and bad for everyone.**

 **And for Lightning just starting to beat the shit put of everyone else beliving they were illusions of Caius Ballad would certainly make them more wary of the situation.**

 **And what has Sephiroth got planned for her? Certainly it wouldn't be anything good!**

 **Oh well, the drama shall continue, at least until they all pull it together!**

 **See you guys next chapter!**


	13. Plan for a Hike

If it was any other ordinary day, Reno would have considered finding an excuse to sit this one out. Yet alas he had to remind himself that this wasn't Midgar. That had been a lifetime ago. Right now however... it was time to get really serious.

With his partner-in-crime Rude by his side, they and alongside a few others went to work on the destroyed medical bay, or whatever was left of it.

Once the pair had been members of the Turks. Now they were the heads of a salvage unit under the orders of AVALANCHE. Payback, Reno thought, for what happened all those years ago with Sector Seven. It could've been worse he supposed.

Rude on the other hand... well, who knows what the brute was thinking. Considering he rarely talks much (and still do) and his neutral expressions, it was like cracking a hardened egg shell with a spoon. Any job he was tasked with, he did it without any objections or questioning, so AVALANCHE rarely had much headaches with him when compared to Reno.

That also included cleaning this entire mess, within the full view of the public that were behind them. Ignoring the hushed chit-chatting going on, Reno simply concentrated on shifting removal debris out of the way.

"Remind me again why we always get stuck with the icky jobs...?" he grumbled to himself under his breath.

It had meant to be rhetorical, but Rude overheard him and still replied anyhow.

"Bad blood."

Reno sighed out softly.

"I mean, it's been a "couple" years since we got this shtick. I mean, everyone always says that age mellows with the years, right?" he muttered under his breath.

Picking up one metal scrap, Reno scrutinised it for a brief moment, taking note of a barely visible word that read "SHINRA".

"It's not like we're still working for those blue-blooded nutjobs. We're all in this together now, aren't we?"

He tossed the scrap over his shoulder, ignoring the yelp of a scrapper who got hit by it.

Looking at his partner, Reno said plainly, "It ain't our fault for everything Sephiroth did. Technically speakin'..."

Rude readjusted his sunglasses, "But we were responsible for a lot of other things. We were hot on AVALANCHE's radar for a reason, remember?"

Reno waved a hand lazily, "Yeah yeah... all the talk about mistreating that Cetra kid and flattening the slums at No. 7. Guess karma really can be a bitch when you least expect it."

Suddenly, there a slight movement of rubble close by, and every person on the scene suddenly stopped in their tracks.

Looking around, Reno mumbled to his partner, "Please tell me I wasn't...?"

Rude grunted affirmatively, "I heard it too."

Turning to the other scrappers, he signalled them over.

"Move it! Find where that sound came from!" he ordered them sharply.

They carried out their order without question.

The pair quickly followed suit behind the lot, and the gathering crowd began muttering at louder tones, now noticing the sudden rapid movements. Reno was the most frantic of the lot, urging his fellow colleagues to start shouting out for any potential survivors.

"Is anyone out there!"

"Are you alright?!"

"Hello?!"

"We're here to help!"

"Stay calm and don't panic!"

And then came another sound of shifting debris; it sounded close to where Rude was currently at.

Staring at the ground below him, he called out loudly, "Is anyone down there? Can you here me?"

He tilted his head to one side, and he concentrated on listening out for any signs of life. Seconds later and he heard no response of any kind.

From close by, Reno called to him, "Well? Anything?"

With a grunt, the bald, burly man got up to his feet.

He looked to the others, "Nothing. Maybe it was just a-"

 ** _"BOOM!"_**

He never finished his sentence, for the next thing he knew, Rude founded himself hurtling through the air. His ears rang like a bell from the sudden loud explosion and his body stinging in pain from the blast. And unfortunately for Reno, his partner was heading straight towards him.

He sighed out tiredly. "Whatever..."

"OOF!"

As the pair tumbled some distance away, the remaining scrappers continued to look on in surprise at a newly formed crater where Rude had once stood. As the shock wore off with the passing seconds, some of them were brave enough to venture forth towards it.

When they arrived at the edge, they peered over to view the bottom, which was considerably a couple of feet below surface level. Even with all the smoke obscuring their vision, one of them could make out faint shadows, and then some faint sounds.

Eyes widening in realisation, she turned back around and called out, "Sirs! We've got survivors!"

Pausing mid-rub on his butt, Reno shared an alarmed glance with Rude.

"Say what?!" he exclaimed and quickly scrambled to his feet.

Racing over to the crater, he squinted his eyes tightly and scanned the inner areas. Sure enough, he too spotted some movement within the choking haze.

"H-Help..." a voice suddenly croaked out from within.

Whether it was a male or female, Reno could not say for certain. The distance was too far away to hear clearly. But he heard that magic word. It was enough for him to decide his next course of action.

"Bring in the stretchers! And fetch me some rope and harnesses!" Reno barked out his orders to the scrappers, "And make it snappy! Chop chop!"

For the next hour or so, the scrappers under the coordination of Reno and Rude, helped to haul out the survivors from the crater.

Well, the crater felt more like a deep hole after initial attempts to scale down to retrieve the trapped individuals. So to that end, both Reno and Rude chose instead to carry them out via the harnesses and ropes that they had. It was quite low key compared to evacuating a casualty via helicopter, but they would take what they could get.

Finally, the last individual was hauled out safely from the crater, and as she was being lowered, Reno and Rude stared at her blankly for a couple of seconds.

Did they... know this person from somewhere?

She was a young woman, with crimson red hair that reached her shoulder level, and that business suit she was wearing. It definitely bore resemblance to the uniform of...

... the Turks.

Letting out soft gasps, both turned to look at one another with widened eyes.

"C-Cissnei...?" they both spoke out to her in shocked unison.

Despite the injuries on her body and the bruises sustained to her face, the young Turk opened her eyes slightly and frowned at them.

"R-Reno... Rude... It's b-been a while..."

* * *

With sadness and pity taking control of his thoughts, Hope continued to look on at the elder Farron from his place at her bedside.

Since the destruction of the medical bay, AVALANCHE had decided to relocate the surviving staff to a secondary facility in the haven. Deep in the heart of its main base of operations.

As far as Hope knew, the only occupants of this establishment were all the groups that were protecting the people. AVALANCHE. SeeD. And now NORA as well. Groups that were seemingly at constant odds with one another. Sometimes out of light-hearted banter, or just an all-out brawl.

Definitely a far cry from his days at the Academy, but at least this place could have been far worse off.

After having Lightning moved in, Aerith graciously decided to give the NORA team some space, considering what had happened with the whole Lightning fiasco.

But the damage clearly had been done. The medical facility was utterly trashed and destroyed beyond repair, and a vast majority of their patients had sustained injuries as well including Squall and Barrett. And Hope knew very well how destruction would provoke an extreme public response, despite Aerith's assurances that Tifa and Rinoa were doing their best to placate the angry mob currently parading around the haven.

Sighing to himself, he raked a hand through his smooth silver hair. Why and how they got into this maelstrom of anarchy and confusion from defeating Bhunivelze, he still couldn't put a finger on.

Just then, Snow stepped into the room, with the rest of the newly "christened" NORA team following in behind him.

Looking over Lightning's unconscious form, Snow asked Hope softly, "So how is she?"

The boy shook his head, "No clue. The only doctor who was watching over her was injured in the blast, and Miss Gainsborough is busy tending to other matters."

He turned to look at the pink-hair. "But from the looks of things, I think she's fine. For now anyways."

Nodding his head morbidly, Snow went over to one of the empty chairs and took a seat. Fang, Noel, Sazh and a slightly injured Vanille sat down as well. None of them said anything for a couple of minutes.

"So... New World huh?" Snow finally spoke out, a humourless smirk on his face, "Feels more like Hell when I think about it."

"Yeah, especially after what happened with poor Lightning 'ere," Sazh agreed.

Fang folded her arms, "If this is what Bhunivelze had intended to create to replace Pulse, then clearly he forgot about Sephiroth."

"But it just doesn't make sense..." Vanille mumbled quietly as she nursed her bandaged tummy, "All the scriptures and precepts fortold of the New World being a new start..."

"And then along comes another god who's striving to create a Promised Land," Noel stated plainly, "Sound familiar?"

Excluding Lightning, all attention was now focused on him, their faces all paled.

"Y-You mean...?" Vanille stuttered fearfully.

Just then, a set of footsteps stomped their way into the room, and the group all turned to the burly dark-skinned man, his forehead, left arm and chest all wrapped up in bandages.

"Who among ya fools' in charge 'ere?" Barret grunted with an authoritative voice.

The NORA team exchanged looks with each other.

"Normally, Light's the one taking point and lead..." Snow spoke up and rose from his chair.

Facing Barret with folded arms, he nodded, "But since she's out, I'm in charge."

Hope was not sure what prompted him to stand up too. Instinct perhaps?

Either way, he said to Barret, "I gladly volunteer my services too. I was leader of a governing body for a brief period."

Snow raised an eyebrow at him, momentarily surprised by Hope's volunteerism. Barret eyed him skeptically for a brief moment and who could blame him? If Hope had maintained his adult physical form, perhaps he would have a better chance.

Eventually, Barret said, "Good. You two come with me."

He turned and began heading off.

But then Snow called out, "Whoa there! Wait a minute! I thought you said you needed one leader!"

Barret glanced over his shoulders, "Two of our leadin' members are outta the picture thanks to that lil' stunt Pinkey pulled. We need replacements, tops, and you just volunteered. Now let's mosey!"

Ignoring the protective glares Noel and Vanille were giving her, Barret marched off, his boots kicking up much dirt and rock as he went.

Shaking his head exasperated, Hope and Snow looked at one another.

"Look after her. Be right back," Snow instructed the others before he followed Hope out of the room.

The duo continued trailing after Barret as they headed past all the other medical wards. Considering that the HQ was as big as a school, the medical facility was just a mere 2 minute walk from the main lobby.

There, they came across another pair of members. They seemed to be bickering about something.

"... I told you, Yuffie! I had no idea Locke would find your secret stash!" Selphie defended herself with raised hands.

Yuffie was practically blowing smoke from her ears. "Cut the bullshit! I know it was you I saw that two-bit pirate talking with back there! I knew you were gonna rat me out!"

"What? No, you misunderstand! We were just talking about what happened out there with those monster things! And also about why one of his materia disappeared all of a sudden..."

"Aha! So you confessed you traitor!"

"That's not what happened!"

"That IS what happened!"

 _"AHEM!"_ Barret coughed forcefully into his fist, prompting both girls to focus on him.

"If you are done pointin' fingers like lil' spoilt brats, then might I "steal" Yuffie for a brief while?" he pointedly asked, earning himself a pout from the Ninja.

Selphie shrugged her shoulders, "Sure, by all means. I still have some duties to tend to anyways."

The military teen turned and headed off, leaving Yuffie to glare daggers at her head.

"Note to self: never ask a SeeD to do a thief's job," she grumbled under her breath.

She whirled on Barret, a cheerful smile suddenly spreaded out from ear to ear. "So what's up?"

"Is everyone else at the briefin' room yet?" Barret asked.

Yuffie cocked her head to the side and tapped a finger on her chin.

"Ummm... let's see... I saw Quistis heading there a couple minutes ago. And before that I saw Vincent getting carted off into a ward. And then Aerith went to greet the batch of survivors Reno and Rude brought back earlier. Aside from that, only Tifa and Rinoa. But they seem to be quite lucked out from that mob outside."

Barret sighed out in irritation.

"Things're just gettin' more complicated all the time..." he muttered under his breath.

Looking back to Yuffie, he instructed, "Go find Aerith and tell her to come to the briefin' room quickly. She did call for the meetin' after all."

Yuffie gave him a mock salute, "You got it, _mon capitan!_ "

And then she spotted Hope and Snow standing awkwardly behind him.

"And who're those two?" she asked curiously.

Noticing a familiar glint in her eyes, Barret slowly and warily replied back. "Replacements for Spikey and Broody Man."

Yuffie gaped her mouth open and before Barret could sto her, she was already onto both men with hungry eyes.

"Well well! Look at you two!" she cooed out ravenously, "A young cutie and a big hunk of chunk! Ooh yeah! Best of luck filling those big shoes, 'cause they're big shoes!"

Snow eyed her awkwardly, "Uh yeah heh heh, thanks for the tip and-"

"Really, REALLY big shoes!"

Hope nodded his head as professionally as he could, "Yes of course, we'll keep that in mi-"

"Big shoes that could house the largest Bahamut in all the cosmos!"

"Alright Yuffie, that's enough now," Barret chided her calmly with a sharp frown, "Don't wanna coddle our newest members on the first day."

Yuffie waved it off, "Yeah yeah, I know! I got that lecture before."

But then she sized up to Snow and actually _leaned_ against his muscular frame. "But YOU can give me a call if you wanna go for seco-"

"Getta move on!"

"OKAY OKAY! SHEESH!" Yuffie relented with raised hands before she turned and marched off, "Just trying to connect with people and suddenly everyone starts getting jumpy..."

As the Ninja disappeared into the medical facility, Barret grumbled in embarassment gestured to Snow and Hope to continue following him.

But just then, Snow heard a small "psst!" coming behind him.

He glanced over his shoulder to Yuffie peeping from the door. She made an O shape with her fingers and pointed an index finger right at it. She made a flirtatious wink at Snow.

The man simply blushed and widened eyes, realising what she was implying.

 _"BANG!"_ Went off a shot directed at the door. It missed Yuffie by a hairline and made a hole next to her.

With a yelp of fright, Yuffie quickly disappeared back behind the door like a scaredy cat.

Lowering his smoke-billowing gun arm, Barret muttered curses under his breath before he continued moving on.

As they brought up the rear behind him, Hope asked Snow in a hushed whisper, "What was that all about?"

Snow shook his head slowly, "Trust me kid. The less you know about it, the better."

A part of him of kind of glad that it was just the two of them here.

If there was one thing he had learnt about Hope, it was that he was always respectful of other people's privacy.

If Fang was here... man, he could just imagine her flagging it like blackmail in front of his face. He just hoped that when he reunites with Serah, she never ever finds out about Yuffie.

Eventually, they arrived at what looked like the remains of a wide and long conference table.

The wood was rough and old, and the smooth edges were chipped into. In spite of this, Hope still decided to reach out to touch the wood with a hand out of sheer instinct.

"Wouldn't do that if I was ya," Barret gruffed as he walked around it, "Last time 'round someone gotta handful of wood chips stickin' outta his hand like a pincushion. And it looked none too pretty pullin' 'em all out."

Hope swiftly retracted away his hand with this in mind.

The trio waited silently for a few minutes, until the rest of the members started filing into the briefing room.

"How are you feeling Barret?" Tifa asked her friend with a bit of concern as she and Rinoa arrived.

Barret shrugged his shoulders, "I'm good. Takes more than some fiery explosion ta kill this gunman."

Rinoa raised an eyebrow, "Yuffie told us a different story. Something about a burly man "crying like a tiny tod in pain" as he was being carried back here."

"... I'm _mostly_ good. But that doesn't excuse me from being 'ere too y'know?"

Rinoa fought the urge to roll her eyes. And then she spotted Hope and Snow across the table.

"Oh yeah, our latest new members!" she exclaimed welcomingly and she made her way over to them, "And I've completely forgotten that we've haven't been formally introduced!"

She extended out her hand to the closest of the two. "Rinoa Heartilly. But Rinoa's just fine," she greeted.

Snow took her hand and they shook on it. "Snow Villiers to most. But Snow to my friends and comrades," he introduced himself.

Rinoa then turned her attention to Hope, and he too shook her hand.

"Hope Estheim. Don't mind the appearance by the way, I'm supposed to be over twenty by now."

"Oh really?" Rinoa perked up and she leaned forwards to scrutinise the silver-haired, "You don't look that old. Maybe just close to fifteen if I had to guess. Why do you say that?"

Hope scratched the back of his hand, "L-Long story..."

"Which can be saved for another time Rinoa," Aerith spoke from the entrance, a small frown on her face.

Nodding her head albeit reluctantly, Rinoa slinked off close to where Barret was, allowing Aerith some room to move closer to the table.

"Yo Aerith!" another male voice suddenly called out, "Where do ya want us to park 'im?"

Turning her attention to the entrance, Aerith replied back, "Just around here will do." She gestured to a big open space behind her.

As the others watched, Reno and Rude was carrying a makeshift bed, with a semi-conscious Cloud laid out on top of it.

Following in close behind them was Vincent who was now sporting a bandage to his injured chest, as well as a redhead young woman. Someone who a handful of those in the room did not recognise.

Once they had settled the SOLDIER down nice and properly, both Turks began heading out.

But then Reno stopped in front of the newcomer and asked softly, "Seriously, I swear I didn't know what happened back then."

She narrowed her eyes dangerously at him, "Spare me the excuses, Reno. I thought Turks always look out for one another, but I guess even that rule got thrown out the window back then."

Reno looked hurt and pained by her response, "Cissnei..."

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to look at Rude, who was shaking his head slowly with his normal look of neutrality. Defeated, the redhead slowly walked out of the briefing room with his partner.

With that drama over, Tifa broke the tension by eyeing both Cloud and Vincent. She then turned to look at Aerith, a questioning look on her gaze.

Taking note of it, the Cetra simply replied back, "They wanted a say in what's going on in here."

"Instead of recuperating?" Tifa questioned with a disapproved frown.

Barret chuckled lightly, "Probably tryin' to wrap up the embarassment of gettin' their asses whooped by Pinkey."

Vincent simply stared at him blankly, and Cloud gave him a pointed look. Taking a gander around the table, Aerith noticed that someone else was missing.

"Quistis still isn't here yet," she noted then looked to Rinoa, "Any idea where she might be?"

Rinoa shrugged, "Last I heard she was trying to calm Zell down in his ward and scold Irvine for making fun of his defeat at the hands of a woman. But I think she should be here soon."

Nodding with acknowledgement, Aerith turned to the rest of the table. Looks like they had to start the meeting without her.

"Alright then, I thank you all for coming, however sudden as this may be," she addressed formally, "But considering the recent events as of late, this probably will be the Guardian Committee's most important meeting."

"Hold up, I'm sorry," Snow suddenly spoke up, "Guardian Committee?"

Everyone else all simply stared at him.

"What? We didn't exactly get the welcome pamphlet when we stepped foot into this place!"

Hope slowly nodded his head, concurring with his ally's sentiments.

Frowning slightly at this, Aerith glanced at Barret and instructed, "Remind me to give Reno a day's long lecture later."

Clearly the redhead Turk had been slacking off for quite some time now since the previous batch of rescued stragglers.

Barret grinned, "Noted."

Turning to the pair, he gruffly drawled out, "Welcome to the Committee, fools! We keep everybody safe, maintain the peace, yada yada. Just don't expect any complimentary cookies!"

Ignoring whatever reaction the two would have, he turned back to Aerith and prompted, "Continuing on?"

Nodding her head, Aerith spoke out, "Thank you Barret. Now as most of you are aware, there have been a recent number of developments as of late. Sephiroth had nearly broken into the haven, and one of our newcomers, Lightning, destroying our main medical facility whilst under his influence. Thankfully he was stopped on both counts, but in light of his awareness of our location, I'm afraid that there's now an inevitability of an all-out attack."

With her revelation up in the air, murmurs began circulating across the table.

"With that in mind, it is urgent that we move up our planned timetable."

That made some eyes widen in astonishment.

"But we've haven't decided if it's a course worth pursuing yet!" Rinoa protested.

"Not to mention the fact that Sephiroth's Sons and his legion of freakazoids are on the prowl 24/7," Barret added in with a skeptical look.

"Don't forget that Sephiroth's controlling the rest of the Lifestream out there," Tifa pointed out, "He could sense us coming from a mile away."

"The raid we conducted a long time ago being a good example," Vincent stated bluntly.

Confused by what was going on, Hope asked, "I'm sorry, what do you mean when you say timetable? You have a plan?"

"The makings of one," Barret explained to him curtly, "A way for us to escape this hunk of cursed space rock."

Disgesting this info, Hope exchanged a glance with Snow.

In spite of the others' protests, Aerith still maintained her calm composure. Once the voices had quietened down, she spoke again.

"Well, then it's a good thing I had Cissnei brought in here."

She gestured with a hand in the direction of the other newcomer in the room, and she stepped forth to the table on cue.

Hope could not help but stare at her, for a longer period than most others in the room.

Wow... she was pretty...

But then the sound of Aerith's voice snapped him out of it.

"For the past couple of years, Cissnei has been our eyes and ears into Sephiroth's comings and goings."

Barret blinked a few times at her statement. "W-What...?"

Cissnei glanced over to him. "Well, regarding the raid we attempted in Sephiroth's lair... Well, it wasn't so much as a failure as you might believe."

"I'm sorry, _not a failure?_ " Cloud croaked out from the bed, his neck creening a little.

Vincent eyed her carefully, "Explain yourself."

After getting a nod to go ahead by Aerith, Cissnei began explaining, "Aerith already suspected beforehand that the raid was going to be a flop. So she decided to approach me and we discussed about a potential backup solution. In order to soften the blow of defeat so to speak. It was a twofold objective: I allowed myself to get captured by Sephiroth, and from the Lifestream, I spied on his work as well as his plans."

Her lips quirked upwards into a smile. "I can even tell you about the current situation with Kadaj."

"Okay wait, back up just a bit," Snow said to her, "You said that you infiltrated the Sephiroth-controlled Lifestream to spy on him, right? How did you even manage to retain your sense of self in there?"

Cissnei smiled ever more pleasantly at him. "When you've been apart of a skilled group of assassins and spies for so long, you pick up a thing or two."

She slid a hand into the inner pocket of her suit and she pulled something out. The others gazed at the item in her grasp. A crystal of sorts that was tinted in light orange.

"This is a Kwartz Crystal," she explained, "I used bits of the Lifestream here to do a bit of physical conversion with my Sense Materia, and also with a little bit of help from the magic of Aerith's White Materia once I convinced her. With it, I was able to mask my life force as well as retain my consciousness even when my body was destroyed."

"Amazing..." Hope gasped in wonderment, "Biological and mental manipulation! Even with the most advanced tech from PSICOM, they probably couldn't come up with something like that!"

Tifa smirked, "That's the power of Materia for you."

As Cissnei set down the crystal down on the table, Rinoa raised another question to the floor.

"So given the amount of time you've spent behind enemy lines, what've you learnt from Mister God Man?"

That was when Cissnei's smile dropped and her expression became stoic and serious within milliseconds. Hope was slightly perturbed by the quick mood change, wondering what sort of training she had to go through to attain such a skill.

"From what I can gather, Sephiroth's hunting of planets has slowed down sharply over the past couple of years."

"Really? How's that so?" Barret queried.

"Considering the trillion souls he's collected, my guess is there's a certain limit to how many the Lifestream can contain, especially since Sephiroth also uses it move across the Universe."

"Indeed. Even we ourselves can't bring in too many stragglers into this place at once," Cloud concurred grimly, "Aerith would tire out quickly from that influx."

Aerith nodded her head as well to confirm the point.

"Possible, but that doesn't explain why he decided to send out Kadaj to another world after assmilating Snow, Hope and the rest of their people," Tifa pointed out.

Cissnei nodded in agreement, "That's what Aerith told me too. So I came up with another possible conclusion. But I have a feeling you might not like it."

She leaned forwards and frowned, "Sephiroth might be preparing to finally create his Promised Land."

Half the people in the room gasped in shock.

"What?!" Rinoa exclaimed aloud.

"Shit!" Barret cursed angrily.

"We have to act now! Time is of the essence!" Hope stated with narrowed eyes.

"Yes! We have to stop him!" Snow snapped and banged a fist on the table.

"Enough! All of you!" Tifa suddenly shouted at them all, "We must keep cooler heads here, even when faced with this threat!"

Although caught off guard by her outburst, everyone quickly quietened down again.

Looking back to Cissnei, Tifa inquired, "If what you say is true, then I assume you have a plan?"

Cissnei folded her arms, "Mr Highwind has already failed on multiple accounts to build a ship capable of handling inclement space travel. And Aerith has also tried to usurp control of this asteroid, correct?"

Aerith sighed softly, "Yes."

That was something she learnt the hard way.

"Then it stands to reason that we have only one option left." Vincent narrowed his eyes slightly at this, "And that would be?"

Cissnei casted her eyes down at the table hard, "We need to separate this part of the asteroid from the rest of it."

She looked up, quickly noticing the stares everyone was giving her. It didn't take much for her to know that they thought she was crazy.

"Girl, I've no idea how much of Sephiroth's Lifestream you've been smokin', but your idea is completely insane!" Barret snapped at her.

Cissnei narrowed her eyes in unamusement, "If you have a better idea Mr Wallace, do please share it with the table."

The burly man opened his mouth to retort, but then he paused before he shut himself up.

"Then we'll risk everything on this plan," Snow stated evenly, "So how do we do it, Miss Cissnei?"

"In order for this to work, we'll need to apply enough force to actually divide ourselves from the asteroid," Cissnei said, "The only complication however, is that Sephiroth's powers over the Lifestream could easily mend the wound if he wanted to."

Cloud hummed with consideration, "And what's our loophole around this?"

"Well... I'm looking at her," Cissnei replied, her gaze directed at the person in-question, "You are have complete control over the Lifestream in this area, correct?"

Aerith nodded her head, "I guess so."

"Then by all accounts you should be able to wars of Sephiroth's powers and do what he does: pilot us through space."

Aerith blinked at her.

"Uh yeah, sorry to butt in but I don't really see Aerith as a good driver," Rinoa spoke out solemnly.

She looked to Aerith sheepishly, "No offense. You're a really cool girl."

"None taken," Aerith replied back sweetly with a shake of her head.

"Then that leaves the separation part," Tifa stated.

Cissnei nodded, "What we need is a tool. Something strong and powerful enough to even cut through the toughest rock."

She left the statement hanging in the atmosphere for a brief moment. Gradually, some of them started to understand what she was trying to get at.

"No!" Barret grunted sharply at her.

Cissnei stared at him, "Yes."

"No!"

"Yes."

"NO! N O means NO!" Barret snapped in utter bafflement and slapped a hand the table, "You canNOT be seriously thinkin' about stealing that long-haired bastard's sword?!"

Hope choked back a gasp, "W-What...?"

"It's the only way for this plan to work," the former Turk responded calmly, "Like I said earlier, if you have a better idea, please share it with the rest of us."

Barret glared at her hotly for a few more tense seconds, before he finally let out a defeated sigh and sagged his shoulders.

Awkwardly clearing his throat, Cloud then prompted her, "So um, Cissnei... continuing on...?"

"Ever since Aerith first rescued me, I've been doing frequent reconaissance missions beyond the haven. With a little help of her magic, of course," Cissnei said and reached into her pocket.

Fishing out a relatively small folded piece of paper, the former Turk began unfolding it. Hope looked on in awe as she expertly flipped it several times until it became roughly the size of an A0. Was there no end to what this woman could do?

Unaware of the staring, Cissnei laid out the now fully exposed schematics of the asteroid on the table.

"As you can see, the layouts of every single tunnel is very complex," Cissnei explained to the others as they looked over the map, "Since previous rescue attempts, some of them have been hardwired with booby traps. Others are being guarded 24/7 by Sephiroth's Ravages. The Arch of Shattered Mirrors being a prime example."

She pointed directly at the specified area.

Stroking her chin, Tifa inquired, "And what about teleporting through the Lifestream? Would it work?"

Cissnei unfortunately, shook her head at this. "Sephiroth will be closely monitoring the Lifestream for any abnormal movements or signatures."

"Just perfect..." Barret grumbled under his breath, "Another happy hike through a space rock..."

"Masamune is one of Sephiroth's prized possessions, even back on Gaea," Vincent stated monotonously, "It's safe to say that Sephiroth will have it kept close to his person, even in his own lair."

"So how do we even get it without arousing his attention?" Snow questioned aloud.

Cissnei stroked her chin, "From time to time, the only periods Sephiroth leaves his sword unattended is when he takes his baths, or takes a sabbatical. Sleeping in this case."

Barret raised an eyebrow, "So even gods can take a shower and hit the haystack, huh?"

"Besides that, he also frequently meditates in his chambers. At which point he'll cut himself off from all points of contact. Not even an assault on his person would disturb him."

"So those are our only windows of opportunity," Tifa said with a nod, "But that still leaves the Ravages and the Sons. There's no way Sephiroth will leave his chambers undefended."

Cissnei gave an affirmative nod, "Exactly. But from what Aerith has told me, Kadaj had departed a day ago, and has yet to return. Considering he's Sephiroth's second-in-command, without him the whole security detail will be in disarray."

She laid a hand on her crystal, "Fighting them is still out of the question however, since that will draw too much attention. To that end, we will use the Kwartz Crystal to mask our life force, sneak right past them, and steal Masamune from right under Sephiroth's nose."

"Wait hang on, if this crystal of yours could mask us in the Lifestream, why not just use it as we teleport to his lair?" Hope queried confusingly, "I mean, wouldn't that save us on a lot more time?"

Cissnei smiled slightly at him, which made his heart flutter a little.

"I admire where you're getting at, but it's not that simple," she explained, "There's so much more of the Lifestream that we still do not understand. Mixing energies together could have drastic consequences, especially for the user."

"Like how Yuffie mixed those explosive chemicals that one time," Barret chimed in.

"But even if we used it, how can we be certain that Sephiroth won't be able to track it?" Rinoa pointed out, "I mean, it's not like we all can use it at once to sneak our way in."

Cissnei folded her arms, "To answer your first point, it's like I said. The crystal's camouflage properties are strong enough to even mask your scent. But it's only to a certain degree. Your life force can't be swimming around in the Lifestream when it's activated. And to answer your second point, you're right, the crystal's influence can only extend up until a certain number of individuals. Which is why I'm recommending a small task force of volunteers for this mission."

Nodding his head, Snow acknowledged, "Considering you have a firm grasp on how that thing works, you'll be leader of this ragtag group."

"And I ain't goin', on account of my injuries and all," Barret stated, as he nursed his bandaged injuries.

"I wouldn't mind going, but then I remembered I had to help Aerith hold up the magic barriers," Rinoa said with a sigh.

"And I have to look after Lucrecia," Vincent said with folded arms.

"I'm with you!" Hope suddenly volunteered and took a bold step forward, "I'm good with coordination efforts too."

Cissnei nodded her head, "That's one."

"Yeah um... I think I'll stay behind too," Snow said with a hesitant rub of his neck, "I gotta look after Lightning. Y'know, felt like that whole drama back there was on me."

Hope could easily sense that there was more to what he said, but he kept his silence, out of respect for both him, and Serah.

And then suddenly, there came loud grunting as everyone turned in the direction it came from.

"I'm going too..." Cloud volunteered readily as he struggled to haul himself from the bed.

Alarmed by this, Tifa quickly raced over to him.

"No Cloud! You're not going anywhere! Not in this state!" she admonished him sternly as she tried to lay him back down.

As stubborn as he was, Cloud unfortunately chose to struggle against her grip.

"Please Cloud! Don't this!" Tifa pleaded with her childhood friend desperately, "You're in no condition to fight Sephiroth!"

"But I have to..." Cloud growled out in fueled determination, "Everything that's happening... all the worlds destroyed... it's because of me! I got us into this mess, and I'll be damned if I don't get us out of it!"

Frowning disapprovingly at Cloud's attitude, Aerith marched over to him, and wabed her hand in front of his face.

Before Cloud even realised what was happening, he was out like a light.

His struggling ceased quickly and with a shaky breath, Tifa slowly lowered the blonde back onto the bed.

A tense moment of silence followed. Sighing softly, Tifa turned back to the others and said, "I'll stay here too. Just in case he decides to take matters into his own hands again."

Cissnei nodded, "And you should. He has the strongest link to Sephiroth than anyone else. His presence on our team would quickly compromise the mission."

"So aside from just myself..." Hope then spoke up, "Do you think there's anyone else willing to join us?"

Cissnei shook her head and smiled, "Don't worry about the rest. I'll take care of that. In the meantime, just be prepared to await my call for the final briefing. We still need to plan on best route to get to the lair after all."

Aerith nodded, "Agreed. And with that, this meeting is over."

Within seconds, everyone began shuffling out of the room.

Walking over to the former Turk, Aerith then asked, "Could you walk with me for a while, Cissnei? I need to discuss with you on... some things."

An unreadable expression crossed Cissnei's face briefly before she replied stoically, "Of course. What do you need?"

The two women walked out of the room, brushing past Reno and Rude, both of whom had returned to collect the now knocked-out Cloud Strife. Under Tifa's watchful gaze, the two Turks carefully carted her friend out of the room before she followed after them.

Eventually, Snow and Hope remained as the remaining two members in the room, with the latter still reading the info on the schematics that Cissnei left on the table. An awkward silence hung over to two males.

"So um... you seem to have something going..." Snow started slowly.

Hope slowly turned to look at him, "What do you mean by that?"

Snow chuckled lowly, "C'mon, I saw how you were lookin' at that Cissnei gal. I swear your face could be as red as a tomato."

His cheeks blushing softly, Hope bashfully rubbed his neck.

"I-I was huh...? Think she noticed it?" he mumbled quietly.

Snow slapped a hand on his shoulder, "Clear as day it was. But that look on her face, I swear she's as tough as nails. You made an odd choice with her, kid."

Hope sent him an exasperated look, "Snow, for the last time, I'm not a kid! I may look like one, but my mind's still mature!"

Snow backed off and raised his hands, "Okay okay! I know! I get the memo!"

And then he grinned slyly, "But _she_ doesn't know that. Way outta your league now kid!"

Hope glared at him and elbowed his side hard. And when the taller man simply continued to laugh harder at his expense, he simply resorted to going back over the schematics again.

Once more, silence fell between the two, that was until Cissnei suddenly arrived back in the room.

"Oh, you haven't left yet?" she asked curiously, which suddenly caught both males off-guard.

Stumbling around address her properly, Hope stood fast and rigid like a trooper and replied back, "Soon ma'am!"

Snow mimicked his actions, but could not help but cast another glance at his partner. He smirked as a darker shade of red filled his cheeks.

Smirking in amusement at this, Cissnei walked over towards the A0-sized paper on the table.

"I was just here to collect the schematics," she explained, "Apparently the Wutai also wishes to join us and wants to see the map of the asteroid."

The two men simply stood off at the side and watched her fold the schematics into an A4 size.

Tucking it neatly underneath her arm, she then addressed them.

"By the way, I realised that we haven't been formally introduced," she said and extended out her hand, "I'm Cissnei. Former agent of the Turks and the Committee's main expert in espionage."

"Good to meet you too, Cissnei," Snow greeted back with a charming grin, "I'm Snow Villiers. Leader of NORA. A resistance militia."

"More like a dance team..." Hope scoffed under his breath.

And then her attention was on him.

"And you?" she queried sweetly.

Trying to muster up enough professionalism as he could, Hope reached out and shool her hand.

"H-Hope Esthiem, ma'am..." he introduced himself clumsily, "F-Former leader of the A-Academy on P-Pulse..."

Cissnei's interest suddenly piqued, "Academy you say?"

Hope inwardly gulped, "Y-Yes ma'am... Founded by m-my parents... Um... we specialise in research and higher education..."

Cissnei tilted her head slightly, "It's funny. There was also another academy of that specialty back on my world. When I was little, I had always dreamt of going there."

"Oh really?" Snow asked curiously.

Cissnei nodded her head, "Yes. I had always thought about trying to change the world for the better. Trying to make peace between all nations. I guess it was just a child's fantasy for me, especially since SHINRA took me in and raised me to become a covert agent."

She shuddered slightly and a pained look flashed across her face, something that Hope noticed quickly before she masked it again.

"Anyways, you don't have to call me "Ma'am" Mr Estheim. Cissnei will do just fine."

Blushing again slightly, Hope stuttered back, "A-As you wish, C-Cissnei..."

Smiling pleasantly at him, the former Turk said welcomely, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr Estheim. I truly look forward to working with you on the mission later."

And with that, she turned on her heels and headed out the room again.

Once she was gone, both males continued to stare at the entrance she had left through. And then Snow nudged Hope with his elbow.

"Yup. She's probably gonna eat you alive."

Hope spun on him and shot glare.

"If you _ever_ tell Fang or Vanille about this..." he warned.

Dramatically, Snow waved his hands in front of him.

"Oh no! Don't worry about it! I'll make sure Fang and the others don't get to use it as blackmail!"

And then he grinned, "But you never said anything about Yuffie or Selphie!"

Hope's eyes widened.

Snow made a run for it in the blink of an eye.

Hastily, Hope shot off after him.

"Snow wait! Stop! Don't do this! You don't even know them!" he hollered out as both of them raced out of the briefing room.

* * *

 **Okay, it's time to get the ball rolling again on the main story! Our beloved heroes will now be attempting a last-ditch plan to escape Sephiroth. And once that is done, it'll just be a space trip away before the really juicy stuff occurs in this story!**

 **Also, a new trailer for Final Fantasy VII Remake has dropped, and I absolutely loved it! And the game finally gets a freakin' release date! Yahoo! Honestly, I'm really looking for to it, more so than Kingdom Hearts III's ReMIND DLC!**

 **Once again, I thank those who've been following this story for so long. I understand it's been quite a gruelling wait in-between chapters, and the potential inconsistencies along the way. But please bear with me, cos I'm struggling hard in-between life and my passion for story-writing, but I'm still strongly committed to the latter! I'll sure be damned if I don't live up to my promises!**

 **Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Until the next one!**


	14. When the Stakes are High

Morning(?) came around pretty quickly. After everything that had happened the previous day, everybody aboard Kadaj's space rock was ready for a fresh new start.

The good news was that the tension had pretty much ceased since Serah and Tidus' little squabble. Both of them were getting along quite well now, considering that they were busy discussing something off to one side.

Even better news involved Terra and her foot injury. When Noctis unfurled the cloth to inspect it earlier, he was relieved to see that the bleeding had stopped; a clot had formed where the cut had been. And while she quickly recovering, Terra still had a bit of trouble walking on her own. The hardness of the clot was giving her a bit of discomfort. To that end, Prompto had volunteered to look after her until her injury had fully healed up. He seemed to doing quite well so far by the way he was escorting over into the main area. Terra was forced to balance and hop on one foot, but thankfully the blonde had her arm on his shoulders for support and his hands on her in turn.

The best news of the day however, concerned Yuna being fully freshened up. For someone who had to use ample amounts of energy to control the Lifestream, it was quite imprssive to see her at a hundred percent so quickly. Right now she was back to her earlier duties of navigating the asteroid. Considering the tremendous amounts of concentration she was putting into controlling the Lifestream, everyone aborad agreed not to disturb her as she did her thing.

And that left Noctis alone with Rikku, who was answering some of the questions he was asking.

"... so to reiterate your point..." Noctis stated dumbfoundedly as he leaned against the side wall with folded arms, "... what you're saying is that you've been flying through outer space for what, hundreds of years now?"

"Yup!" Rikku replied back spritefully, "Four hundred to be exact!"

Noctis stared at her, "Okay... not the most mind-boggling thing I've heard today, but I can't say I'm not surprised."

"I feel you, dude. Had the same feeling when I first got here," Tidus said mutually even though his attention was more concentrated on Yuna, so was Serah's as they carefully monitored the Summoner's condition.

"But still though, it must be so surreal for you guys," Rikku remarked, "Being plucked outta your planet and thrown out here with us."

"Admittedly, being in outer space was the last thing I would've put in my itinerary," Prompto confessed with a light shrug, "If I ever thought about it, which I didn't."

"Of course you wouldn't," Tidus stated bluntly, "Any normal folk wouldn't. I mean, take a look at me, Yuna, Rikku. One moment we were on our world, the next it gets blown up and here we are."

Terra shuddered slightly, still remembering the horror that was her own demise.

Noctis took notice, a look of pity crossing his face momentarily.

"So what's your story?" Tidus turned his focus over to Serah, "How'd you got roped into this whole mess?"

Serah sighed out tiredly, and crossed her arms over her chest. Her eyes stared down at the ground.

"My original home world got destroyed by another god, and my sister defeated him and led us across the stars towards the New World. I think we were half-way through our journey when Sephiroth's asteroid showed up. He trapped up on the surface, and he and his Sons attacked and harvested everyone's souls. Our chance for a brand new start, a brand new peace, gone in an instant."

Noctis and Prompto aside, the others (even Yuna) were giving her looks of sadness and pity.

"That's... messed up..." Tidus breathed out.

"I'm sorry..." Terra spoke up in a comforting manner.

"And what about you?" Rikku then inquired curiously, "How'd you survive?"

Serah's eyes closed. "In a way, I could thanks Sephiroth for that. According to him, he always leaves behind one person alive to tell the tale. A... messenger of sorts. He then sends him or her to his next intended target to warn the populace of his imminent arrival."

Tidus nodded his head, "Yeah. We got something like that too. About a few days prior I think... say Rikku, what was his name again?"

The blonde girl beamed, much to Noctis' confusion.

"Oh! You mean that cute guy who had such lean arms and had that golden feather for good luck?" she preened giddily.

"... Yes, that guy but do you remember what was his name?" Rikku tapped her foot, "Hmm... I think it was Farts or Quartz... no no that's not it..."

Exasperated, Tidus looked back to Serah, "Anyways, I think it's safe to say that everyone..."

The pink-hair fidgeted slightly and Noctis coughed into his fist.

"... _almost_ everyone has had that sort of encounter with the bastard. None of us could have known what was coming."

"But not us," Noctis pointed out and took a step forward, "Kadaj is trapped in a tiny bottle, and his holy figure of a Dad is still waiting for his return."

"Which buys us some time depending on how Sephiroth's viewing the situation," Serah added in, "We get to Noctis' world, find those Royal Arms and-"

"Uh, Serah?" Prompto suddenly called out, "Now that you finally mentioned it again, there's something I've been meaning to tell you. About the Royal Arms."

Serah turned to him, "Yes Prompto?"

"Well... you see, um..." Prompto rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "The thing is... the Royal Arms are more of an... exclusive set of weapons..."

"... O-Okay, come again?" Tidus inquired as he folded his arms.

Sharing a look with his best buddy, Noctis immediately understood what he was getting at.

Taking point, he clarified, "What my buddy's trying to say is, there's only one specific group of folks who can use the Arms at their true potential."

Rikku leaned closer out of sheer curiosity, "And that would be...?"

Even Terra could not help but listen in to the conversation. She always had a interest in learning about other cultures.

Noctis had his hands at his hips, "My bloodline. Only us Caelums can use the Royal Arms up to their full abilities."

"But what about others outside of your family?" Terra asked, "Could we use them too?"

Noctis' eyebrows furrowed in consideration, "Well... too be honest, we haven't figured that part out yet. I mean, the last few times I simply just absorbed them into my armiger and didn't let the guys carry them."

One word in that sentence struck a bell with Serah.

"I'm sorry, _armiger_?" she asked, "What are you taking about?"

The Prince simply smiled at this, knowing that a demonstration was coming.

"Why... this of course."

Concentrating deeply, he breathed in deeply because he called upon what he dubbed as his "last resort".

He thrust out his hand and in a sparkling flash of light, spectral, crystallised versions of the acquired Royal Arms burst into existence. They hovered and spun all around him in a circular pattern, being as wondrous as they were majestic. Even though he only had the Sword of the Wise, the Axe of the Conqueror, the Swords of the Wanderer and the Blade of the Mystic, they still made him look like a superhero!

And from the looks on the faces of the others (excluding Prompto of course) he could easily tell that they were dazzled by the spectacle.

"Ooh la la!" Rikku exclaimed in surprise and amazement.

Tidus simply stared as if he was reliving Yuna's first Sending all over again. Terra gaped slightly, her eyes transfixed on the translucent weapons. Even Yuna herself could not help but stare briefly at Noctis with a hint of impression on her features.

After about another few seconds, Noctis decided that that was enough light show for one day. With another arm thrust, his armiger disappeared.

A moment of silence followed. It then broke with a squeal and charging feet.

Before Noctis could even react, he founded himself being smooched by some unknown forced. Arms were wrapped tightly around his waist like a boa constricting its prey.

"Aiiiiieeeeee! Where have you been all my life?!" Rikku cried out happily as she nuzzled her head against Noctis' chest like an affectionate cat, "Forget that Farts guy! You're the man I've been pining for!"

His cheeks flushing red in embarrassment, Noctis subtly attempted to pry himself from her grasp.

Prompto stared on at the exchange with an unreadable look on his face. If his buddy was looking at him though, he would guess it as jealousy. Tidus meanwhile simply chuckled to himself in amusement. Good to have a bit of entertainment once in a while, even if it came at the expense of an ally.

Terra on the other hand, could not shrug off this growing feeling inside of her. She couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was, but seeing Noctis' futile struggle in Rikku's embrace triggered something in her emotions that she couldn't describe properly.

Eventually though Tidus finally decided to step in and break it up.

"Alright, that's enough Rikku," he said as he pulled tugged at the blonde's arms, "Let the poor prince go now! You're making him flush the royal colours!"

Reluctantly, Rikku released her arms. Almost instantly, Noctis backed away from her, closer to where Prompto and Terra were.

His arms up to his aching sides, he commented wryly to the blonde, "You've got quite a grip, y'know?"

Rikku grinned, "I try my best to make an impression!"

 _"I think that's not what he meant..."_ Prompto thought to himself with a slow head shake.

One look at the frown on Tidus' face and he could tell he also shared the sentiment.

Rolling his eyes, Noctis turned to stare out the window, to the stars that decorated the blackness of the void as the others continued on with a separate conversation.

How many times had he been doing this now? His sixth time? Seventh? Honestly, he himself couldn't care enough to keep track of the numerous times he tried to distract himself from all the boringness.

How long was he going to be stuck out here anyways? For all that he knew, everyone else on Eos was now probably despairing the loss of their precious King, and the Niffs were rejoicing evermore that he was out of the picture. It was almost hard to believe such a ludicrous thought. Him? Being _missed_ by an entire world? He wondered if even the Astrals had taken notice of his absence by now.

Just as he was about to turn back and rejoin the others, he caught something at the corner of his eye. He squinted slightly, trying to make out something at a specific part of the sky. It looked like a small speck of something. And it appeared brown in colour.

Frowning slightly, he started walking his way over to the window, the others too caught up in their discussion to even notice him. Well, all except one.

"Hey Noct!" Prompto called over his shoulder as the others continued to laugh aloud, "Get over here, I wanna tell these guys the time you got petrified by that Necro-"

His smile faltered slightly, watching as his friend continued walking over to the big window. Terra was the second one to catch sight of him.

"What is he doing?" she wondered.

Shrugging his shoulders, Prompto decided to head after his best buddy.

"Noct? What's up with you all of a sudden?" he asked again as he sidled up to the Prince's side.

Whether or not Noctis was caught up in his own thoughts, he could not say. All that he knew was that his friend was suddenly fixated on something. Somewhere out there in outer space.

With that in mind, Prompto turned to look out into the stars. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Not at least from his perspective.

He looked back to Noctis. "C'mon, buddy! You gotta throw me a bone here! What're you seeing that I'm not-"

The rest of his question got muffed out by a gloved hand to his mouth.

"Sshh!" Noctis hushed him curtly, his eyes still trained on a particular part of space.

With his other hand, his summoned a pair of binoculars that he included into his armiger before leaving Insomnia. He always knew it might come in handy someday. Finally he could stick it up to Gladiolus' comments about it being "useless".

Prompto's eyes widened at the thing, _"Holie chuobo! Yu had vad de hole tyme?"_

Noctis ignored his muffled voice and raised his binoculars. Through it, his trained his sights on that small brown speck he saw earlier. Now that he had a zoomed version of it, he could easily make out what it was. A second later and his breath was hitched. He recognised it!

"Prompto... you might wanna see this..." he said, a trace of shock in his tone.

He handed over the binoculars to his friend and removed his other hand from his mouth.

Exhaling out in relief, Prompto took a second to glare at his friend before he took the binoculars and raised it to his eye level.

He directed his sight at the point Noctis was pointing to. Specifically at where his finger was at the brown speck. Now he could see it too. That speck was no mere smudge. It was defnitely something else!

"I-Is that...?" he murmured to himself in growing disbelief.

Noctis grinned, "Oh hell yeah it is."

Intrigued by his enlightened mood, Serah called out, "What's happening over there, Noctis? See anything interesting?"

"Are we arriving at your world already?" Tidus asked expectantly.

He felt quite ecstatic about touching the earth of a planet again.

"Not exactly, but we're closer than we think," Noctis clarified.

Beside him, Prompto gasped loudly, "No way, man! Is that what I think it is?!"

Patting the blonde on the shoulder, he gestured for the others (excluding Yuna again of course) to come over.

"See that?" he said and pointed to the speck, "It might not look like much, but it's more than it seems to be."

He took the binoculars from Prompto and offered it to the arriving four. Tidus used it first, followed by Terra, then Rikku and finally Serah. The latter most person could only gasp once she caught sight of it.

"That's... a planet..."

"And no just any planet," Noctis said with a nod, "That's Foedo. The fourth planet from the Star."

"Yeah! And it's supposed to be extremely toxic and full of radiation!" Prompto chimed in like a Science nerd, "No one ever dares to set foot there on account of potential death!"

He then paused to consider something. "Wait a sec... Foedo... fourth planet..."

His eyes lit up, "Oh my chocobo! We're close to home!"

Rikku gaped at this.

Tidus stared at him, "R-Really? You're serious?"

"You have _chocobos_ too?!" Serah piped up in shock.

"Do you have Moogles by any chance?" Terra asked as calmly as she could, though all reason and logic would leave her once she caught sight of one.

Noctis blinked at all of them before he composed himself. "O-Okay, we're getting off topic here. So back to Tidus' question, yes we're close to Eos."

"How close?" The question came from Rikku.

"Our classes always teach us that Eos is the third planet from the Star."

"And you know what that means...?" Prompto added in.

The pair watched with amusement as the revelation of the logic sunk in.

"Oh..." Tidus croaked, "Oh...!"

Serah snapped her fingers, "Looks like we're on the right track."

Looking over her shoulder to Yuna, she asked, "Yuna! Are you able to speed this thing up a little?"

Yuna pondered over this for a second. "I could, maybe, but then I would be risking using up all my energy again and resting for another long while. Given our circumstances and the fact that we don't have any knowledge about Sephiroth's movements, we can't risk any chances."

Serah deflated slightly, but she still respected her concerns. "Alright, just make sure you're not pressing yourself too hard."

"Yeah Yunie! We need you at a hundred and ten percent!" Rikku shouted cheerfully with two thumbs up.

Yuna smiled with a nod before she returned back to piloting.

Noctis could not help but feel a little overjoyed at the change of pace. They were almost home! Well, at least for both himself and Prompto. And about damn time too! He was ready to eat all the junk food he could get his hands on the minute they touched down.

"So Noct, I've just been wondering about something," Tidus caught his attention, "About your set of weapons. How good are you with them?"

Noctis smirked slyly, "Well, about as far as I can _throw_ them."

Prompto eyed him with a grin as if to say "I see what you did there!"

Tidus nodded, "In that case then..."

He pulled out his sword and twirled it expertly. "You up for a lil' spar, Your Royal Highness?"

Noctis folded his arms, "Hmm... I suppose it's intriguing to find out if I can best another alien..."

And if he could do it, he'd have one more thing to boast to Ignis and Gladiolus about. What he would give to see the look on the former's face...

He extended out his hand, "You're on."

Tidus happily shook it, "I expect nothing less outta you. You look like one tough cookie!"

Prompto leapt to Noctis' side, "If you want tough, ho ho you oughta see the Big Guy Glad-"

He yelped from an elbow to his ribs. "He's not here Prompto, and I'm here so I'm the tough one."

From the side, Terra looked on in amusement at the exchange going on between the men. Somehow they reminded her of the constant banters between Locke and Celes.

The same could be said of Serah. Noctis and Prompto reminded her of both Noel and Snow.

"Come on! Let's this thing underway already!" Rikku chirped impatiently, "I can't wait to see Noct's powers on display!"

 _"For you to ogle at..."_ Noctis and the other two men thought with a subtle shudder.

Looking back over to Yuna, Tidus asked, "You gonna be okay on your own?"

Yuna smiled assuredly, "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Just go and enjoy yourselves and I'll let you know when we're arriving."

While a tad bit unsure of this, Tidus ultimately relented with a nod. He knew Yuna could take care of himself. He seen it first hand when she staged a daring escape from Seymour's wedding, and through her stories when she was part of the Gullwings with Rikku.

"Alrighty then, let's head on out and find someplace to spar!" Prompto said in a lively manner as he practically raced off first.

Shaking his head in amusement, Noctis remarked, "Always the feisty one."

"Kind of reminds me of Vanille," Serah added.

Tidus looked to Rikku and whispered, "That guy's perfect for you."

Rikku giggled, "I know right? Noct's everything I imagined for my dream guy."

She skipped off, leaving Tidus to stare on in disbelief. Obviously he had meant Prompto, but too bad she didn't see it like that. Gesturing with his head to the others, he quietly led the way.

As soon as the others had gone, Yuna could not help but let out a sigh. Truth be told, she was becoming extremely exhausted. All this control of the Lifestream was starting to a toll on her mental health. But since Noctis had affirmed that his world was close, she was going to shrug it off and soldier on.

Little to her knowledge however, the green of her right eye glowed slightly, and her pupil narrowed into a slit...

* * *

 ** _Sephiroth's Asteroid_**

Hope was honestly surprised that he had managed to prepare himself as quickly as he did.

It was sooner than four hours that Cissnei had summoned him back to the briefing room while also reminding him to pack only the necessities. In this case, it meant his trusty boomerangs and a couple of Potions that Tifa had given to NORA.

With his itinerary all checked out, he turned to the others that were still seated around Lightning's bed.

"Wish me luck," he said.

Vanille gave him a thumbs up, "You can do it Hope! I believe in you!"

Fang nodded with folded arms, "Don't die out there."

Sazh pumped up a fist, "Kick that god's ass for us, son!"

Hope nodded back, "Right."

Turning on his heels, he headed out of the ward. As soon as he turned a corner though, his bravedo faltered and he let out a deep sigh.

Man oh man, he just couldn't catch a break, could he? And here he thought that perhaps another person from his group would've been eager to come along with him to Sephiroth's lair.

Why did fate and destiny hate him so? When he first arrived back to ask them about volunteering, he was a bit hopeful that they would at least consider Cissnei's mission details. Oh how he was proven wrong.

Understandably though, Vanille profusely declined, the memory of her death still fresh in her mind. Fang however, initially wanted to join too to give Yazoo an ass-kicking. But seeing as she was close to Vanille, she quickly changed her mind and genuinely declined. As for Sazh, he felt a little bit conflicted. On one hand, he wanted to go to save his son Dajh, but on the other he wasn't really prepared to die yet again at Sephiroth's hand. He wanted to live long enough to see Dajh again. And both Snow and Noel were somewhere else entirely; Fang stated that the latter had went off exploring whilst Hope and the former were at the meeting. As for Snow, he was out handling some things with Barret with regards to the destroyed medical tentage.

As disappointing as this was, Hope still respected their decisions. At least there was one representative of their people who was prepared to risk his own neck for them all. Exhaling out through his nostrils, Hope straightened a little before he proceeded onwards. His footfalls were almost soundless. As if he was just a passing ghost. This however enabled to overhear hushed conversations coming from other wards that he went past. One in particular though made him halt in his tracks for a brief moment.

Peering through the slightly opened door, he caught sight of Squall laying on the bed. All the injuries done unto him by Lightning were laid bare for Hope to see. The bandages were ripped and in tatters, and there were visible bruises all around him, especially at his throat where Lightning tried squeezing the life out of him.

Sitting at his side was Rinoa, who had a glowing hand out on his forehead possibly healing him slowly. Quistis on the other hand was simply standing off to one side with her hands folded. She silently watched the magical interaction with a slightly troubled look.

Hope then took a pause.

Wait a minute, didn't Yuffie mention before that Quistis had went to the briefing room? Then how come he didn't see her when he was inside?

Eyeing the blonde one last time, he continued on his way. One thing was certain, either Quistis somehow had ninja skills, or Yuffie was lying. Either way however, it probably wouldn't have altered the course of Aerith's meeting anyway.

 _"... I still can't believe he's blaming himself..."_

Hope froze in his tracks. That came from the room up ahead. He trekked his way over to the opened doorway. Glancing around to make sure no one else was around, he leaned near the door frame and peered inside.

Sure enough he caught sight of a bed-ridden Cloud who was still fast asleep, and Tifa and Aerith both sitting at bedside.

Fortunately for Hope, they were seated right in front of him, meaning their backs were facing him, unaware that he was eavesdropping.

The latter was giving the former a gentle pat on the back, a look of sadness evident on her features.

Sniffing slightly, Tifa woefully muttered, "I-I mean, I understand that Cloud's been through so much. Being strung along like a puppet, being experimented on..."

"We couldn't have prepared for everything that happened," Aerith consoled her comfortingly, "Those events were beyond our control."

Tifa sighed, "I know but... hasn't he realised by now that this isn't his burden to bear? Technically we all share the blame for not being able to stop Sephiroth, but everything that's happened to us is caused by-"

She stopped her sentence right there, knowing she would feel sick to her stomach referring to that company by its name.

Aerith seemed to understood. "I agree to some extent. But, the root of all our problems stemmed from Jenova, remember?"

"Yeah, I know. Who could forget the Calamity that almost wiped out your people? Thank the gods she's no longer a problem."

Her crimson eyes casted down onto her hands, finding interest in them all of a sudden.

"When will this nightmare end...?"

No more words were exchanged, after that. Silence hung over the pair as Aerith reached out to give Tifa comforting pats on the shoulder.

From his hiding spot, Hope could not help but feel a pang of sadness and pity for both women. He knew that there were some folks here that had a stronger connection to Sephiroth than everyone else, but he could never fathom how deep those scars were. At least not in the way Tifa and Aerith had probably been through. From the way they've been describing their predicament, he could almost imagine what kind of things they had gone through. All the trauma they had to bear along the way. And the fact that they were apparently taking full blame for everyone being stuck here? It really struck a chord with Hope.

What had really happened with Sephiroth that caused all of this misery, he wondered. Did it also have something to do with this Jenova person that they mentioned?

So many mysteries being revealed, yet there was so little time to dwell on it all. Not when Sephiroth was still threatening the entire Universe out there.

Hope continued on his way, but his pacing was starting to become far more brisked. While he was no expert with the senses, he could tell that the atmosphere was becoming rather dreary for his tastes. Eventually, he emerged out of the medical bay and made a beeline for the briefing room.

Once inside, he was greeted by the sight of Cissnei tending to her map on the table, while Yuffie was curiously tied to a chair nearby, her mouth complete stuffed by a cloth, although he had a feeling why she was like that now.

Seeing him enter, the Ninja's eyes went wide. She started to toss her head about and fidgeted violently, pleading for him to untie her.

Hope stared at her, unsure of his options.

"Welcome back Mister Estheim," Cissnei's welcoming voice cut through the silence like a knife, "The briefing will commence soon, so I suggest you get yourself settled in."

Her lips formed a pleasant smile. "Unless of course you wish to "seat" yourself beside Miss Kisaragi?"

There was an underlying message behind her expression.

With one look that said "sorry" sent to Yuffie, Hope slid his way over to the table.

The Ninja huffed at this and went back to pouting again.

Setting his pack aside, Hope gazed down at the map; upside down from his perspective.

"So Cissnei," he said, "Aside from us three, I assume that there're more that have volunteered to go with us, is there?"

Cissnei hummed, "I've sent word ahead the timing of the briefing. They should be here soon too."

She looked up to him, "Why? Are you eager to meet them?"

Hope bashfully shrugged, "Well... it's more like a "getting to know your teammates who you might die with" sort of thing. Yeah, I guess you could put it like that."

Cissnei squinted her eyes in deep scrutiny, "Oh, so you're implying that my plan could fail then?"

Hope's eyes widened.

"N-No! T-That's not what I'm saying! You're plan is foolproof!" he denied frantically with waving hands.

Cissnei smiled in amusement, "I suppose it is. But then again..."

Yuffie yelped as she felt a sharp kick to her shin.

"... We are in the company of a mischief. So it's not foolproof."

Glaring daggers right at the former Turk, Yuffie started muffling out something, and Hope could only imagine some not too friendly words being spouted out.

A second later, and three more individuals emerged inside the room. Greeting them with a glance, Hope noticed that two of them he had not seen before.

The third one however, came as a shock to him.

"Noel?" he almost exclaimed out as he walked right over.

"Good to see you tagging along Hope," Noel greeted back as they shook hands, "Always great to have a familiar face on any team."

"And on that point our feelings are mutual," Hope nodded his head.

"I heard about what happened with Lightning and the tentage. I'm sorry I wasn't there to help out." Noel apologised.

Hope shook his head, "It's alright. We managed the situation before it got out of hand. Or rather, before Lightning started another rage-filled quest to destroy everything."

And then a thought came to him.

"Speaking of that, where were you just now during the whole thing?"

"Exploring the haven," Noel responded, "Wanted to see if Yeul was here too."

His smile faded into sadness, "I didn't find her."

"Sorry," Hope said with a genuine look of pity.

"Come now you two," one of the two newcomers chatsied from behind, "Let's not make this room any more gloomy than it already is."

"Agreed," Cissnei noted with a nod.

Turning over to Hope, he said, "I don't believe we have met yet."

He extended out his hand, "Auron."

The young teen nodded his head and shook it, "Hope Estheim."

Adjusting his sunglasses on his nose, Auron gestured to the second person behind him. "And this one's Irvine Kinneas."

Irvine scoffed, "No need to do the intros for me, old man."

He walked over to Hope and greeted him with a tip of his cowboy hat.

"Best shooter in Garden at your service," he declared dramatically, "There ain't a target that I wouldn't miss."

"Like that time you shot at that Matron mother of yours?" Yuffie's clear voice called out, apparently she had managed to cough out the cloth from her mouth when no one else was looking.

Irvine rounded on the Ninja in an instant and jabbed a finger at her.

"Shut it! That's a sensitive topic!" he snapped heatedly, "How'd you even know about it anyways?!"

Yuffie smiled slyly and stared off into the distance, "I have my ways of convincing folks... especially one girl with a weirdo hairstyle..."

Irvine's eyelids twitched.

"Selphie, you traitorous sneaky..." he growled under his breath.

There was sharp cough, and all eyes were on Cissnei.

"If we're all done with playing around, shall we proceed on with the briefing?" she asked in a disapproving tone.

Hope and Auron nodded normally, whilst Yuffie nodded eagerly. Sighing softly in defeat, Irvine reluctantly backed away from the tied-up Ninja and moved over to the table.

"Within the thirty minutes, we will embarking on the Committee's most daring task yet," Cissnei started addressing, "Infiltrating Sephiroth's lair. And our main objective? Stealing Masamune."

"I-I'm sorry, Masaroonie?" Irvine questioned confusingly.

"Masamune. Sephiroth's long and thin butterknife." Yuffie clarified, albeit in a far more bitter tone, "He wiped out half my people with just a few cuts."

Hope stared at her, "A few cuts?"

Yuffie looked to him with tormented eyes, "Yeah, like trimming off grass."

Okay, that was a pretty harrowing description. And judging from Cissnei's expression, it seemed to be a legitimate statement.

"So with that in mind, we must take extra precaution when we enter his lair," Cissnei continued, "One slip up and Sephiroth will be aware of our presence and find out what we're up to."

"And when we do steal that long butterknife, what're we going to use it for?" Irvine questioned.

"The Committee has hatched a plan to separate ourselves from the rest of this asteroid. Masamune will be an integral part of that plan."

Auron considered this thoughtfully.

"It's risky. It could bring Sephiroth right to our doorstep again, and use the loss of his blade as an excuse to start an all-out assault on the haven," he stated warily, "And yet it's still the best chance we have at possibly escaping his grasp once and for all."

"But then what about his Sons and the Ravages?" Yuffie pointed out, "Don't tell me that we're gonna be butting heads with 'em out there! I just recovered from that one hellacious warzone at the gate!"

"Don't worry Yuffie Kisaragi, I've already an idea to handle that issue," Cissnei replied assuredly.

From her pocket, she produced the Kwartz Crystal and held it out for everyone to see.

"This crystal has been infused by my Sense Materia and Aerith's White Materia. It has the ability to mask our life force, and it should be strong enough for us to sneak right by all of Sephiroth's minions."

Yuffie continued to stare on at it, her eyes bawling. But the former Turk noticed this from the corner of her eye and knew what that meant.

She kicked the teen's shin again, producing a squeak from the Ninja.

"So when you say "sneak right by", does that mean that this shard of yours will also turn us invisible?" Hope asked curiously.

Cissnei pursed her lips, "Well... how should I put this...? To an extent, my crystal's power can make your body unseen too. But doing that will drain its energy much too quickly, and it would take a while for it to replenish before I can use it again."

Irvine sighed, "So much for a breezy walk..."

Auron stroked his chin, "If that's the case then, I assume you have a route planned out to Sephiroth's lair?"

Nodding her head, Cissnei directed their attention to the map.

"Getting to our destination won't be a walk in the park," she explained, "Sephiroth has spread out his forces across a majority of frequented tunnels and caverns, that much is certain."

She pointed at one particular spot, "But by my estimates, this part is where both the Committee and Sephiroth tend to overlook for most of the time. A deep gorge that's filled with the remains of Sephiroth's victims..."

She swallowed a shallow breath, "Including those of our allies..."

Silence fell across the room.

"So with that in mind, do any of you wish to step away from this mission?" Cissnei asked, her voice grim, "It's still not too late to walk out of this room. I cannot guarantee that all of us will return back here alive."

Everyone else began glancing to one another, their eyes conflicted and filled with uncertainty.

A part of Hope's mind was urging for him to turn back now, to return to his friends and wait it out until their collective demise when Sephiroth returned. Another part however was encouraging him to keep going forwards. He had made this far anyways, and he shouldn't turn back now. After all, even though he was now in the company of people he hadn't met before, he knew that they were all in this together now, trapped in this dilemma and up against a foe who was more powerful than any of them. He just had to trust in them, the same he placed trust in his friends back when he was first tossed into the whole Purge catastrophe. It's what his mother would've wanted for him after all.

Steeling himself for the trials ahead, Hope nodded his head to Cissnei.

"I'm with you," he declared.

Acknowledging him with a return nod, the former Turk looked to the others.

Yuffie sighed with shrugging shoulders, "Eh, what the hell... we're all gonna die out here anyways..."

Irvine nodded his head, "At least give me a chance to put a bullet through Yazoo's skull. That bastard upstaged me when he sniped me from a hundred miles away."

Hope stared at him incredulously.

Auron hummed, "For the billions of lives Sephiroth has taken. They must be avenged."

There was a hint of pride that graced Cissnei's face as she smiled at her new teammates.

"Alright then. Gather whatever else you require then recovene with me at the gate. We move out in ten."

* * *

 **Fun fact: Foedo is Latin for "flith" or "foul".**

 **More to come, so stay tuned!**


	15. An Oracle's Lament

"Please! I beg of you! Consider the evidence being put before you!" the loud, reverberating voice of Lady Lunafreya echoed all around her, to the delegates of all the towns and cities (still standing) of Eos that were in attendance, all of whom were in their own private murmurs and discussions.

When she had summoned them right here in Cape Caem, she was not sure whether or not the (unofficially recognised) Council of Eos would unanimously stand behind her on her warnings about Sephiroth.

Everyone was on their heels as it were in light of the news of the destruction sowed in Altissia, even though the atmosphere inside the rundown wooden house gave off a contradicting feel.

Naturally, as she noted from the get-go, Niflheim wasn't amongst the attendees, considering the Council was initially (and secretly) put into place because of their rule. The conquered nations and settlements had sworn to stand united in hopes of fighting back, or at the very least mitigate the negative effects that the Empire subjected them to.

And then her eyes glanced back over to the faintly large monitor beside her, bearing witness to the taped recordings of the events in Altissia.

Even though the bigger picture was big enough for everyone to see, Lunafreya still could not help but feel a little worried that they might give themselves into the worst, or **best** , possible outcome.

The only other person that she could rely on to relay her own experience about Sephiroth was Serah. Unfortunately however, she was unavailable considering that she was somewhere in the far reaches of the cosmos, alongside Prompto and her world's beloved Chosen King.

It was an uphill struggle, she knew, but Lunafreya understood just how severe this threat was. And while Noctis was busy dealing with his own danger in space, she as the Oracle must also do her part in aiding him in whatever way that she could.

One of the most prominent members of the Council was tapping her chin in thought whilst her aides were speaking to her in hushed whispers.

"So let's just say that we combine our forces to combat this vile deity," Camelia Claustra spoke out critically, "It still won't be enough to deter him, especially since he will probably view us as insignificant mortals."

"Indeed. And let's not forget the fact that the Empire has been making serious enroachments as of late. Insomnia and Lestallum come to mind." Holly added in, "That and the Prince has been kidnapped by an alien."

She had arrived in representation for both Lestallum and EXINERIS. The mayor of the town had under mysterious circumstances, "disappeared" when the Empire took it.

"Agreed. But surely this impending world-ending scenario makes the Empire pale in comparison?" Monica implored.

Claustra folded her arms, "Frankly, I am thoroughly skeptical about moving my men only a few days after Leviathan's summoning. There is much to do to rebuild Altissia."

"None of that will matter if Sephiroth gets his way," Ignis stated clearly, "According to our informant, he destroys worlds and absorb the souls of inhabitants into his collection. And chances are great that Eos will be no different."

There was a brief pause.

"And I suppose that sayin' our prayers and waitin' for the end ain't an option?" Cid asked with furrowed brows.

"No it isn't. And it never will be," Gladiolus said, firm and unwavering.

Cor concurred with a grunt. "We will fight unto our dying breaths. Eos will never go down peacefully without a fight."

Cid scoffed, "Tch! That's what Reggie said when them Imperials attacked Galahd. Now look what's happened to Insomnia."

Those words made a handful in the room stiffen, especially the Lucians, and the Galahdians. Even the Premier of Galahd himself couldn't help but stare at the old mechanic in bewilderment.

Cindy shot her grandfather a disapproving glare. He should know better that it was insensitive.

Awkwardly eyeing them all, Aranea cleared her throat loudly. "Ahem... You were saying Miss Oracle?"

Lunafreya frowned at her slightly for that title, but she nevertheless continued.

"While Prince Noctis is no longer amongst us, I do believe that he will return. The Hydraean has spoken. And if there are others that have been imprisoned by Sephiroth, then I suspect that he may not return alone."

From amongst the crowd of Hunters, Dave spoke up, "So we may have allies?"

"Or enemies," Gladiolus grumbled warily.

Lunafreya nodded, "We can have assurance that we have a fighting force, both here and out there, when the time comes. Until then however, we must be pepared for the coming of this invading deity."

"That is, if everyone here is willing to stand with us," Cor reiterated, "We need all hands on deck to mobilise Eos for the coming fight."

All the representatives glanced at one another, and also to their respective associates. They mulled over their choices and the potential outcomes.

"And what of the Empire?" Claustra questioned, "Have they been apprised of this new danger?"

Lunafreya bit her lip. "I'm afraid not. Niflheim is an altogether different beast, and I have no illusions Emperor Aldercapt brings to bear more attention upon the Crystal than other matters."

The representatives mulled over this in silence.

"Even so, the Empire's the only force that has the most firepower," Aranea stated thinly, "Perhaps we should-"

"I believe that discussion can be tabled for later," Claustra interjected, "We focus on our own, first and foremost. Are we clear on this, Miss Highwind?"

The ex-Commodore shared an icy stare with the stoic secretary.

"Transparently." Came her curt response.

Ignoring the cold look, Claustra turned her attention back to Lunafreya. "I will say this, Highness. You and His Majesty have brought much trouble and destruction to my city, and now you stand before me, pleading for our aid once more."

Lunafreya dared not waver from her eyes, but deep down she felt the utmost bit of pity and guilt for what happened in Altissia.

"Under normal circumstance, I would adhere to the advice of my council and focus internally on rebuilding efforts. However though, if there truly is a deity coming here to destroy Eos, then safeguarding the future of Accordo must now become a global priority."

Holly nodded her head, "Same with Lestallum."

"And every other country," the Premier of Galahd stated firmly.

Cor's lips made a fraction of a smile. Sounds like they had just agreed to join them. Lunafreya also smiled at this.

"Then prepare your forces, and let us reconvene at Formouth Garrison in a few days' time," the Marshal then declared, "Until then, let no word of this reach an Imperial ear."

The next fifteen minutes went by as everyone began to disperse.

Cor had given instructions to the Hunters to continue their search efforts for the royal tombs, whilst the Glaives were instructed to conduct reconaissance and find out the imperials' next move, supervised by the Crownsguard of course.

At the same time, all the representatives bade their farewells and all returned back to their respective towns and cities, leaving behind those that were closest to Prince Noctis still standing at the parking lot just outside the lighthouse. Since Aranea had her ship parked on the quiet, empty road, they decided to hitch a ride through the air.

As everyone buckled into their seat in the lobby, Aranea had moved to the front to direct her two lackeys Biggs and Wedge.

"So what about us, Marshal?" Gladiolus asked, "Where'll we be going?"

"For the time being we return to Hammerhead to recover our bearings and plan out a strategy. The Niffs have passed by that place before without doing so much as an inspection, so it should be safe. From there, we'll head on over to Formouth."

"But why that garrison though?" Ignis suddenly spoke up, "It's an Imperial base, no?"

"Correction, it _used_ to be one," Cor stated, "Ever since your little... visit there, the Empire vacated the premises. And they left a number of weapons and machinery behind, be it haste or sheer ignorance."

"Easy-pickings for you Lucians," Aranea called out as she overheard their discussion, "Like taking candy from a baby."

Ignis stroked his chin thoughtfully, "Hmm... if that truly is the case, then would it be possible to take over those other bases, if only to limit their control over Lucis?"

"Would if we could, but it's not that easy," Cor stated bluntly, "The Empire could easily deploy another flying fortress and settle down elsewhere. And with their number of Magitek troops, they could easily retake the garrisons without any casualties."

Ignis pursed his lips slightly in disappointed and his eyes stared down at the ground.

"Of course, we might consider that route someday if the Empire doesn't bother coming back for them, but that'll be for a later date. I know how much all of us want to kick them back to Gralea, but things like this take time. And a lot of it. Until then though, we must stay vigilent, if only for the sake of our people."

The rest of the trip was filled with silence, and within a matter of a few hours, they finally arrived back in Hammerhead. The red-painted airship descended down onto the sandy surface, kicking up much dirt and dust all around. And then the ramp was lowered, finally allowing its passengers to disembark, led by Cid and his granddaughter as they headed over to the garage.

"Finally, back on solid ground!" Iris exclaimed in relief as she brisked her way out of the airship.

And then her senses came into contact with the extreme heat.

"O-On second thought, staying inside here sounds a lot better..."

Before she could retreat though, her big brother came up from behind her.

"Hey now, c'mon lil' sis," he encouraged with a teasing grin, "It ain't so bad out here. A little bit of sweat and dryness won't kill ya."

He took her by the arm and gently tugged her along, much to her weak protests.

Ignis exited next, accompaying Talcott who surprisingly adapted well to the heat. All that he was talking about was how hungry he was, and the bespectacled advisor was more than happy to oblige.

Bringing up the rear were Lunafreya and Cor. Both were silent and were the only ones to retain serious expressions as they entered the sheltered petrol kiosk.

While Ignis escorted Talcott to Takka's restaurant, the rest moved to the garage. Here, the two family mechanics were in the midst of shifting away a majority of their daily equipment.

Looking concerned for the labour work his old friend was performing, Cor quickly marched over.

"A hand, old friend?" he offered, despite his hands already on the equipment.

Cid scoffed, "Tch! I ain't dyin' just yet..."

Yet his expression carried one of gratefulness, more than enough to satisfy the Immortal.

On Cindy's end, Aranea, Gladiolus and Iris had already moved in to help with the other items in the shop, and even Lunafreya was helping to set up a couple of chairs.

After ten minutes or so, everyone had settled down in the middle, with a whiteboard sitting right in front of them.

With a marker in his hand, Cor strode up to the front. "Okay, here's what we know. In Altissia, everything was going accordingly, with Lady Lunafreya summoming Leviathan."

He set his sights on the top-left corner and wrote down Lunafreya's name, drew an arrow pointed right, and then the name of the Hydraean.

"But then everything changed when this foe who goes by Kadaj descended down from the heavens."

Just below Leviathan, he jotted down "Kadaj" and bracketed the word "Asteroid" beside it.

"And then Noct got taken." Gladiolus stated with a frown.

"The blonde kid too," Aranea added in, "And the pink-hair as well."

Cor wrote down the trio's names and labelled them as MIA.

"And Serah's name has an E. Not two As."

He changed it from "Sarah" to "Serah".

"Is there anything else that we shoud know about her?" he then inquired, "Aside from being a lone survivor from space?"

Gladiolus shrugged, "It's like Ignis said back in Lestallum. Her world got blasted by its god, there was another one prepared for 'em, but Sephiroth caught 'em first. Like fish in a fisherman's net."

Brows furrowed, Cor made a brief description of it just below Serah's name. He then drew several arrows and connected them downwards to one spot.

"Which leads us... to the puppetmaster of this charade."

He wrote the name "SEPHIROTH" in capital letters and hyphened it.

"Who we now know is a god hell-bent on hunting down planets and sucking dry all essence of life from them."

He wrote it down below.

Gladiolus felt something tighten around his arm. He looked down to see his sister's hands gripping him tightly, and then to her timid expression as she stared at that one word that was going to stay with everyone for a while.

Stepping away from the board, Cor turned to the others. "And that leads us to our topic of discussion. How do we stop someone like Sephiroth?"

"Better question," Aranea piped up with a raised hand, "How do we _kill_ someone who's literally a god?"

Lunafreya hummed quietly to herself, "By all accounts, it should be impossible for a mortal to fight a deity. And yet the Hydraean has ordained our survival."

Cor stroked his beard before proceeding to write Luna's account next to Leviathan's name.

"What did Leviathan say to you when you summoned it, Lady Luna?" Iris suddenly asked.

"In her own words, "This world must be saved from the being's wrath, and the True King will be a piece on the board when the time is nigh."" Lunafreya recited.

Gladiolus frowned, "Noct..."

"She also said it was now my duty to ensure that the Chosen King survives until the very end."

There was a tense pause as everyone hung onto every last word.

"Well... ahem, it seems clear now that His Highness harbors a greater importance than ever." Ignis' voice signalled his arrival.

He noticed the distant looks. "Also, did I miss something?"

Cor's attention was on him, "How's Jared's grandson?"

"He's over at the restaurant having lunch. But don't worry, Takka's keeping him company."

The advisor quickly walked over to an empty chair situated next to Aranea and took his seat. At the same time the Marshal began scribbling down the Hydraean's speech.

He took a step back when he was done, alowing everyone to get a good look at what they were up against.

"So let's say Noctis does come back, what's next then?" Iris asked, "Y'know, considering he's still technically way below top tier level and all?"

Lunafreya hummed, "Indeed. Prince Noctis has yet to attain much from the kings of the past, but he already has the Ring on his person."

"But do you believe that he'll use it yet?" Gladiolus inquired, "I wasn't there to see it, but I have a hunch he looked a little resentful when he saw it."

"In times like this, he might not have a choice," Cor evenly stated, "Astrals aside, that one ring holds the greatest power in all of Eos. The Kings of Yore. To not use it against an invading god would be near foolhardy."

"But even so, His Highness would need much more than that in order to fight against Sephiroth properly," Ignis pointed out.

"Agreed. Hence the reason I've the Hunters resume the search for the remaining royal tombs, albeit at a faster pace. I can only hope they'll find them upon His Highness' return."

Ah, of course. How could they've forgotten about the Royal Arms?

"But while we prepare for Noctis' return, we must also be ready to greet Sephiroth once he arrives," Lunafreya said.

Cor nodded his head then moved to jot down all the names of those joining their cause.

"Depending on the number of able-bodied personnel they can muster, we have to plan this out carefully," he said, "Otherwise, we'll cock it all up and Eos gets obliterated."

He grouped them all together and categorised them under the Council of Eos. And then he moved to jot down something else.

"Which brings us to the elephant in the room."

Everyone's mood soured slightly, seeing the two words that were written.

"NIFLHEIM EMPIRE"

Setting the marker down, he turned to face the Tenebraen Oracle. "What are the odds the Empire decides to look the other way from this threat?"

The blonde gripped her hands tightly around the Trident and she lowered her head in deep thought.

"It is hard to say..." she mulled, "There are not a lot of high-ranking officials that care much for the welfare of the planet, save for their own soil. They are under the heavy influence of Emperor Aldercapt. His ambitions are their ambitions."

"The bastard's got them all under his thumb," Aranea furthered, "Too loyal to his royal bloodline."

"Not to mention your defection," Gladiolus pointed out, "Your status in their ranks could've helped us out a little."

Aranea smiled coyly, "I was Commodore yes, but I don't exactly boss everyone else around. They never trusted me to follow along to their rhythm. Most of my duties are as per the orders of the higher-ups."

And then she glanced over to Lunafreya, "But aside myself, there may be one more high-ranking officer who can help us out."

Lunafreya looked conflicted, knowing who the mercenary was referring to.

"I... am not certain if Ravus could go behind the Empire's back. They watch his every move," she stated quietly, "And do not forget that he bears much rancour towards the Caelum bloodline."

Gladiolus huffed, "No arguments about that."

The look on his face told the story. Ignis knew he was still holding onto a grudge since their last encounter with the High Commander.

"But going on the assumption that you can convince him-" Aranea implored.

"I'm uncertain if he even wants to be!" Lunafreya all but snapped at the other woman.

Almost everyone was taken aback by her sudden outburst, the Marshal was one of them (surprisingly). Her grip around trident tightened further and she gripped at her stomach.

"Ravus' hatred cannot be described or measured in words. It has been fuelling him since the fall of Tenebrae." Lunafreya's words carried an ambience of sadness and pain, "Fuelling his thirst for vengeance and justice. Even now he still speaks ill of Noctis, in every conversation I have had with him."

She looked up to the others, her eyes on the verge of tears. "While my brother has no love for the Empire, his love for Noctis is even less so."

She turned to Aranea, "So what makes you think that my brother would even lift a finger to help the King of Light?"

There was a short pause.

"Right... terrific speech, Your Highness," Aranea coughed awkwardly, "But I may get back to what I was saying earlier... I'm very well aware that your big brother's got beef with your fiancé, but you could convince him to do this, for you."

Ignis stroked his chin thoughtfully.

That... was a fairly good point to consider. Ravus would almost definitely do anything if it meant aiding his sister.

An unreadable emotion flashed across Lunafreya's features briefly before she stoicly replied, "In order to appeal to my brother proper, it might take some time. As I have said, the Empire watches his every move."

There was more to her tone than anyone would realise, but not to the Marshal. He could tell that she wanted a change in topic, now.

He cleared his throat, bringing all attention on himself, and continued, "We have our medium to the Empire, that's all that matters for now."

He wrote down Ravus's name on the board as well as Lunafreya's and linked the Empire to him first then to his sister.

"But what about all the towns and settlements?" Cindy wondered, "It be prudent to warn them about that god, no?"

"Hmm... On one hand, it is not wise to stoke widespread panic amongst the populace," Ignis noted informatively, "On the other hand though, we cannot simply leave them in the dark when there is an imminent conflict approaching. They must be prepared, for the sake of their own safety."

Cor concurred with a nod, "Agreed. We'll have to make a formal address for the media. And everyone needs to be listening in throughout the coming days."

"I'll ask Holly to look into the arrangements," Cindy said, "EXINERIS has some pretty big connections with all the news outlets."

That bit of information was also jotted down on the board. In the far back, Aranea noticed that the spectacled advisor beside her had his gaze faced downwards. He appeared to be deep in thought.

"A gil for your thoughts?" she asked with a hushed voice.

The only response she got was a slight turn of his upper body, away from her.

Sighing quietly, she leaned closer to his side. "What's on your mind, Butler?"

That got a reaction out of him.

Ignis glanced to her, albeit with a mixture of amusement and irritation.

"I presume you're going to keep up this charade as long as possible?"

Aranea smirked slyly, "Until it bores me, then I move onto the next big thing. But seriously though, what's gotten your gears turning all of a sudden?"

"Planning for preparations is good and all, but then comes the actual event itself. And since our opponent is a god, we have no idea what we're up against."

"So what, you suspect that he's stronger than the Astrals?"

"He could be, or he couldn't be, or he could be on the same level. The only thing we can do at this point is speculate his possible moves when he arrives at the chessboard. We have to assume that he is a very experienced and shrewd strategist, else he wouldn't have been able to destroy so many worlds."

"Well, if this guy is a powerful being, then I'll be more than ready to bring my A game to the table."

Ignis raised a brow, despite a small smirk gracing his lips. "Oh? And am I assume that all those times you've fought are not the best we've seen?"

Aranea smiled, "You're talking to a mercenary, Four Eyes. I've always got tricks up my sleeves. Besides, this girl doesn't go down easily."

"Like that time the Red Giants almost broke your lance?"

The former Commodore smiled even wider, "Looks like even straight-aced white-collars can get snarky."

Both turned their attention back to the Marshal who was giving his final remarks before they ended the briefing.

And then Ignis snapped back to her. "What the bloody hell do you mean by "straight-aced"?"

* * *

Darkness fell over the desert within the next few hours.

After the debrief, everyone retired to the diner for a quiet dinner, in spite of Talcott being the only lively one there.

Not much else was discussed aside from Cor's assurance that he would think up on a strategy.

After that, they all retired for the night.

While Ignis, Gladiolus, Iris and Talcott booked into the caravan close by, Cor, decided to sleep inside the garage with Cid and Cindy.

Aranea meanwhile had retreated back to her ship, most likely to fill her men and her two associates Biggs and Wedge in on the current situation. Seeing that she didn't come back out again meant that she was probably sleeping there for the night.

And that left Lunafreya as the only person who stayed awake.

Currently she was standing by the roadside, alone and with no personal bodyguard. Not that she even wanted to have one anyways; she could take care of herself after all. Besides, she wasn't that much far from the safety of the lights, at least not far enough to permit the daemons to emerge.

With her trident gently planted by its tips into the ground, she looked outwards to the horizon. To all the barren lands, mountains and foliage that made Leide what it was.

Truth be told, there was much uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the coming conflict. Whether or not Sephiroth succeeded, there was little doubt that things would never be the same.

And yet... the possibility of winning... was something that intrigued her more.

The prophecy was pretty much insignificant for the time being, and it forever will be when they lose.

 _If_ they lose, if she and her allies had anything to say about it.

And then she thought about her brother.

Oh Ravus...

It was highly possible that he might be extremely difficult to persuade. Of course Aranea wasn't wrong when she pointed out that he would be willing to do anything to help, if only for her sake, but that wasn't what concerned her. She was more concerned about how he could do it behind Aldercapt's back should he refuse to aid their cause.

He had been appointed High Commander, and for very good reason. The years of unwavering loyalty had helped to win him the trust of the Empire, even though he brushed arms with those that didn't think an outsider should be entrusted to lead their armies. Even so though, there was more wariness surrounding her brother, even suspicion. As far as the matter was concerned, she prayed that a positive outcome could be reached.

 _"Hail, o' Oracle of Light..."_ A familiar voice whispered from her right.

Almost instinctively Lunafreya turned to greet the one who was slowly walking towards her. The High Messenger herself.

Lunafreya acknowledged her presence with a nod. "Gentiana. What brings you out here in this time of the night?"

Gentiana stopped a few meters away, her hands ever clasped in one another, and her eyes still remaining closed. The look of serenity graced her features.

"I have come to convey a message from the Astrals. The time draws near, and the fate of this world hangs by a thread."

Lunafreya's lips pursed, "Yes. Sephiroth."

"He will seek to bend all that exists to his whim, but the Gods will not allow it to come to pass. Know that when the time comes, the Chosen King shall have their aid."

So the Astrals were on their side too?

Not much of a surprise, seeing as Noctis had already forged a covenant with a few of them.

"But the only way for the Astrals to be called, is if the King of Lucis beckons for them..." Lunafreya pointed out, although she was also apparently dwelling on something.

It felt like there was much more to Gentiana's message than she was letting on. And then comprehension dawned on her.

"There's more to this than just your aid... isn't there?" she inquired.

Gentiana slowly opened her eyes, and she stared right into the Oracle's soul. "The Gods are made aware. The King's place in the beyond."

Lunafreya's eyes widened.

The Astrals knew where Noctis was? In _space_?!

 _"The covenants have been forged. We are bound to his soul."_ Another voice suddenly spoke from behind.

She turned around, and was surprised to see the Astrals standing before her. The ones whom Noctis had already forged covenants with.

Titan, Ramuh and Leviathan!

Peculiar though that they were suddenly more miniature in size compared to their usual gigantic selves.

 _"While the Chosen King is far from us, our bond has never wavered,"_ Titan continued, _"Know and be assured, Oracle, that his heart continues to thunder."_

Lunafreya smiled in relief at this news; Noctis was still alive! _"_

 _0And yet he still remains beyond your reach. So long as he is not amongst you, the false god will still have his way."_ Leviathan stated grimly.

"But... you do know where he is presently... right?" Lunafreya asked slowly.

The three Astrals nodded their heads.

A thought came to her. It sounded ludicrous and absurd, but it wouldn't hurt to try... would it?

"Is there by any chance, I could... see him?"

Silence hung over them.

"Please. At least just once. If only for a few seconds."

It took Lunafreya all her might not to raise her voice. Out of respect not only for the deities standing before her, but also for everyone else that had already turned in.

Once again the Astrals glanced at one another, with no words being spoken. It was like they were communing telepathically.

And then finally, the silence was shattered.

 _"Know this Oracle, while the King has his covenants forged, he is yet experienced with the ability he wields."_ Ramuh stated, _"Thus, we are not able to bridge you directly to him."_

Lunafreya lowered her head in understanding, and disappointment also.

 _"However..."_

Her head snapped back up again.

 _"We have sensed that there are others he is amongst. One of who bears a strength akin to your own."_

Noctis was out there with others? Now that brought her a bit more relief. Prompto and Serah aside, at least he wasn't alone out there.

But there was... someone else just like her?

That certainly made her intrigued. The notion of other forms of life out there were not lost to her. In fact, she had quite the fascination herself about aliens during her younger years.

But now, the fact that the Astrals were affirming the existence of extraterrestrials? And that there were others like her out there?

It seemed too good to be true, but then again the lore of the Starscourge and the Crystal could have also been passed up as mere fantasies. In a kinder, normal world that was.

And then it occured to her, if there was someone with Noctis that was similar to her proffession, then...

"What you are implying..." she started again slowly, "... is that you could...connect me to this person who is of equal position to me."

The trio of Astrals responded simply by nodding their heads.

Hope soared in her heart.

Taking a step forth, Lunafreya spoke, "Then establish a bridge to them, so I may have this convention."

Ramuh and Titan nodded their heads, while Leviathan made no motion or response. She was still a little reluctant to be aiding mortals this soon.

One by one, their bodies began to glow brightly, so bright that it forced Lunafreya to snap her eyes shut.

Energy flowed through her, coursing her veins and tickling at her skin. It felt as if she was growing light-headed, like her mind was being pulled away from her physical form even when she truly wasn't.

And then it ceased.

When she opened her eyes again, she took in her surroundings. Everywhere she turned, she saw running but rock. A cavern of sorts, she figured. But the ominous contrast of the colours of green and foreboding atmosphere that she could sense... she knew that there was no place on Eos that could ever house such a realm of coldness.

"W-Who are you?" a female voice suddenly spoke out.

Lunafreya's breath hitched and she spun around. She came face-to-face with another young woman.

Her hair was shoulder length, and her widened irises consisted of two different colours, blue and green. And the one feature that screamed "intrigue" to Lunafreya the most was her robes. They were unlike any form of fashion she had ever seen, even by the standards of ancient times.

Both women stood rooted the ground, and the only exchange they had was through eye contact.

"H-Hello there..." Lunafreya finally mustered the courage to speak again, "My name is Lunafreya Nox Fleuret. Might I ask who you are, Miss?"

The other woman blinked twice before she responded, "Yuna."

* * *

 **Finally! Some more scenes with Noctis' allies on Eos!**

 **Apologies if the whiteboard mindmap part feels it bit too much to wrap your minds around, but I try my best to make sense of how the story's.unfolding thus far.**

 **Also, apologies for another lengthy wait. Work had been so _crazy_ as of late, I was forced to put aside story-writing for a while.**

 **So now we see first-hand another extension of the powers of the Astrals, especially since now they have a strong connection with Noctis following the covenants. And also, Luna and Yuna meeting each other! How crazy is that?!**

 **Ahem! Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this one, and I hope I'll be able to put up another one soon. Ciao!**


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